When Nothing Else Matters
by JoeyKangarooGirl
Summary: Riker Lynch x OC. Maxine (or Max) Locknel is forced to move to Los Angeles from Australia, where her new neighbors turn out to be the famous Lynch family she automatically loves to see them. Riker however is different. Max just sees something about him that's... different. Friendships form and attempt to break, but who will be there for Max when nothing else matters?
1. Chapter 1

**I hope you enjoy this fanfic! I haven't uploaded any since my last account was deleted so hopefully I can still write to please! This fanfiction begins in Australia just to let you know! Happy reading!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any people, places, companies or anything else you may recognize in this fanfic except the storyline.**

"Mum!" I shouted, standing on the front porch of my brick house. There was no reply. I should have expected there wouldn't be one, considering that my mum was never home when I returned from school. I dropped my shoulder bag on the wooden decking and slumped to the floor while pulling my phone from my pocket. The screen flashed to life as I hit the power button, timing itself perfectly with my annoyed groan. After swiping my way through a bunch of Facebook and Twitter notifications I started angrily attacking the dialer pad, punching in a number I new off by heart.

"Maxine, what's up?" The other line picked up immediately. My cheeks started heating up at this and I narrowly avoided screaming down the phone.

"Clara! Do you have to do that every time you pick up a call from me!?" I fumed whilst gritting my teeth.

"Do what Maxine?" I could practically hear her smirking.

"For the last time, Don't call me that, call me Max. Max Max Max Max!" I can't even tell you how many times Clara and I have gone over this exact conversation.

"I know Max," Clara laughed "What'cha want anyway?"

forgot my keys again..." I trailed off, wishing I didn't have to be so clumsy all of the time. I only got a few seconds of silence before the phone exploded with laughter

"Again!? I swear you're doing that more and more often these days! Is it old age that's making you so forgetful?"

"Clara we're the same age and both in high school, can you just hurry up and get over here?" I almost yelled.

"You know it! Anyway, I'll grab my bike and come around ok?" The phone hung up before I could even answer her. I rolled my eyes and lent back against my door, looking out towards the road which was being heated by the Australian sun.

Clara-Rose Anderson was the name of the best friend I had ever had. Probably the only one too. Our parents all worked in the same laboratory where a small research team worked on possible cures for severe allergies. Our parents had both worked in the same lab since before Clara and I were born. Since our parents were close friends, Clara and I have become stuck to each other like glue. We were both in 11th grade and had a lot of the same classes so most of the time we were mucking around together.

Clara lived a few blocks away in a house that was pretty similar to mine except that mine had a pool in the backyard. I knew she would be taking her time with getting here, knowing full well I would get irritated. About a year ago my parents had left a spare key to my house with Clara's family, for those re-occurring days when I forgot mine. Which was a lot of the time...

My mind snapped back into focus as Clara's pale figure came gliding around the corner on her bike, the sun reflecting into my eyes off of the frame.

"Well this is a familiar sight!" she raised an amused eyebrow as her bike skidded to a halt. I refused to react and merely held out my hand for the key which seemed to amuse her even more.

"Do I not get a thank you?" I sent her an unamused look as she dropped the key into my hand.

"Thanks," The amount of sarcasm applied to my voice would have been obvious to a baby.

As I pushed myself up from the floor, Clara ditched her bike on the front lawn and shook out her windswept hair. The front door swung open after a quick turn of the key and a little kick from me. I was half tempted to shut the door on my best friend as a joke but decided I would much rather go and grab a glass of juice. I could hear Clara closing the front door as I entered the spotless kitchen. My mum liked to keep things _very_ clean in there.

"Got anything for me in here?" Clara waltzed into the room before opening the fridge and burrowing around like it was her own home. Well, I guess it practically was since we spend so much time at each others' houses.

"Yeah, I poured you some juice. It's on the breakfast bar." I stated halfheartedly as my mind was focused on plugging my IPod into a set of speakers. As Clara started draining her glass I swiped my way into my favourite playlist. My feet practically were dancing by themselves as the first song began blaring throughout the house.

"It's R5 time!" I channeled my best sports commentator voice whilst playing a spectacularly stupid air guitar routine. Before long Clara and I were both jumping around my house like complete idiots.

R5 had been our little obsession for ages, both of us having our own t-shirts, necklaces and posters.

"Why don't more people love Rocky? I mean come on! He's _hot_!" Clara danced around me dramatically.

"I think that your fangirling is about equal to that of 100 normal girls!" I laughed, going down on one knee to theatrically end the song.

"Shut it Max!" She retorted jokingly before putting on a cutesy face "Besides, we both know you would jump off a cliff for Riker!" I rolled my eyes at her remark, knowing full well that I really did like Riker Lynch. I mean how could you not? He's talented, hot, funny, hot... hot... funny... hot...

My thoughts were pushed aside when the music stopped abruptly. Both Clara and I whipped our heads around to see _both _of our parents standing in the doorway with my 14 year old brother Andrew, fresh from school. Each one of them seemed to be wearing expressions that told both of us something was up. I exchanged a silent sideways glance with Clara before pushing some hair from my eyes and trying to regain some decency.

"So, uh, why are you all home earlier than usual? And what brings us _all_ together hm?" I asked, letting a bit too much caution into my voice.

"Maxine," I cringed as my father said it. This was some serious business. My parents knew I hated my full name and it was only used for formalities. I nodded.

"Let's all go and sit at the table shall we?" Clara's mum added, her voice dripping with fake enthusiasm. We followed the adults and Andrew into the dining room with our minds racing on overdrive, trying to comprehend what was going on. Once we were all seated, slightly awkwardly, at the table my dad cleared his throat and spoke up.

"Girls you both know that there has been talk at the lab about it closing down for a while now..." he trailed off.

"Oh my god did you guys get fired!?" Clara practically exploded. She was doing well to have even stayed quiet for this long considering her bubbly and _incredibly _talkative nature.

"N-not really Honey," Her mum gave her a stern _sit-down-now _look before continuing "As you know, the company is based in America and we work at the single Australian branch. The heads of the company decided that it was using up too much funding to have our lab here so they have decided to close it down. For good." My jaw dropped at the news and it took everything I had not to let my eyes bulge out of my head.

"So _none_ of you have jobs anymore? Oh my god are we going to be broke or something?" Clara burst again whilst her eyes switched between me and our parents.

"It's not as bad as you think Honey. Since there isn't a very large amount of people in our lab, they offered each of us a job at their main lab... in America." Well that sure did the trick, now my eyes really were bulging and my jaw may as well have been on the floor.

"S-so what are we going to do? It'd be expensive to move _countries_! I mean c'mon! You're going to find new jobs or something right!?" My best friend looked like she could go on forever but she was silenced by a nudge from her dad.

"The company offered to pay all moving and flight expenses but we would still have to buy a new house. It'll be fine because we'll have plenty to spend once these houses are sold."

"Wait so we're actually moving!" I managed to squeak into the discussion.

"Yes. I know it's a bit sudden but we're leaving in a month so I want you to start cleaning up and packing A.S.A.P." I couldn't comprehend this at all. We were moving to _America_? And in such a rush!?

I didn't even bother to say goodbye to the Anderson s as they walked out to their car, Clara ditching her parents to ride her bike home. The last thing I saw was her mouthing the words 'We'll talk online'

I slowly walked back into the house where I found my mum already starting to clean up and move a few things into organized piles.

"So where in America are we going then?" I flopped down onto the couch whilst using the most monotone voice I was capable of.

"Los Angeles Max now go and get cleaning. The real estate agent comes around for the first time tomorrow. They specialize in selling homes fast so hopefully that's what they're going to do." She gave me a gentle nudge off of the couch before adding on one more thing "And if you're worried about your swimming you shouldn't be. It's not like they don't have pools or swimming clubs and contests in L.A." I groaned as I headed upstairs to my room.

Once I was finally in my room I clambered up the ladder to my bunk bed and face planted with a groan into my pillow. I just couldn't get the fact into my mind that we would be moving to an entirely different country where we knew absolutely _nobody_ except the Anderson s. I rolled onto my back and stared up at the ceiling where I had stuck my R5 poster. It had little scribbled quotes and song titles all over it from where Clara and I had attacked it with silver marker pens.

After about 10 minutes of mindlessly staring at Riker and the rest of the band I dragged myself off of the bunk and started to pace around my room. wondering what to start packing first. I decided to go for my most precious possessions first.

I raced downstairs to grab one of the many folded boxes my dad was unloading from the car then ran right back up, taking two stairs at a time. Slamming my bedroom door with my foot I threw the the now unfolded box less than gracefully onto the carpet. I ducked under my bunk bed to where my desk was and tipped all of the less breakable ornaments into the box below before placing the more fragile objects on top a little more carefully. When I stepped back, the only things left on the desk were my new laptop and desk lamp, which was quite the change to my usual clutter. My next target was the many swimming trophies and ribbons that were proudly displayed on a shelf above my window. I took each one down carefully, trying my hardest not to put a single dent on the things I had worked so hard for. Once every award was added into the box I had two more things to add to it. I pulled down my R5 poster and swiftly rolled it up, resisting the urge to stare at it for hours and placed it gently in with the trophies and ornaments. The last addition was hidden in my drawers where it was safe from the prying hands from anyone but myself and occasionally Clara.

I opened my lowest drawer and pulled out a small wooden box from under a pile of clothes. The box contained heaps of little objects and random things that each represented really special memories for me. Clara was the only person who I had ever shown it's contents to. I gave the box a little squeeze before tucking it into the last remaining space in the larger box. I raced downstairs _again_ and grabbed a roll of tape and a marker. When I reached my room I knelt down and taped up the box before writing in large letters

'MAX'S STUFF! BREAK IT AND PAY THE CONSEQUENCES!' I know... very subtle of me.

A bit of wind blew through the window, helping to cool down a hot and stressful afternoon. My computer chair squeaked when I jumped onto it to check my laptop. The screen blurred to life and I immediately clicked my way onto Facebook. I checked to see if Clara was online but there was no sign of her. I'm not sure what made me want to accept it so soon but for some reason I made a status telling all of my friends (not that there were a lot of them) that Clara and I were moving to Los Angeles in a month. I couldn't help but think I had put it incredibly bluntly but I wasn't in the mood for subtleties.

After doing my usual Twitter routine of stalking each member of R5 and a few other celebrities I headed back onto Facebook to look for Clara again but before I could I was surprised by the fact that my status had so many comments after such a short time. Some of the comments were the expected; 'Oh my god Max! You're leaving!' but one of them made my eyes bulge.

'Aw Max! I'm gonna miss you and Clara-Rose! Hey isn't LA where that band you guys obsess over are from?'

I mentally slapped myself for not realizing it sooner. So there was a bright side to this stupid moving thing after all. We might get to see R5 in real life! I got up from the laptop with a slightly lighter mood and went back to packing. As soon a Clara came online I was going to fangirl like hell.

Maybe moving to LA could somehow let me finally meet Riker Lynch. Just maybe...

**Authors note-**

**;) So what do you think? I know it must seem strange with the main character being Australian but I thought I had never seen one like this before and since I AM Australian I thought it might me a fun thing to try! PLEASE review, even if you just want to criticize the chapter I'll use it to help me in the future! I would really appreciate every review and it would make me so happy to have people following this fanfic as I write it. ROCK ON! I'll upload the next chapter as soon as I finish writing it! **


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer - I do not own any people, places, companies or anything else in this fanfiction except for the storyline.**

***1 month after Max and Clara's parents broke the news about moving to LA***

"Max hurry up!" my brother Andrew called as he ran through the bare looking hallway.

"Y-yeah I'll be there in a minute!" I poked my head out from my room, waiting for him to disappear down the stairs before quickly and quietly closing my door. My eyes misted over a bit as I stared at the almost empty room. All that was left was my on flight bag that I had to take down to the car.

Today was the big day. Even after watching my house get emptier and emptier over the last month, it still hadn't really sank in that I was leaving that place for the last time in probably forever until that very moment. I traced my fingers lightly around the walls as I circled the room silently, my gaze softening at every familiar spec of it. A single tear managed to escape my eye as I lent on the windowsill, staring blankly at the view I had seen most nights of my life. When I looked into the very right hand corner, I could even catch a glimpse of the glistening bay area where Clara and I used to roller blade every afternoon as really little kids.

"Max _come on_!" I jumped as my dad called from downstairs.

"Just give me a second! I... I need to go to the bathroom first!" I strained for an excuse to stay for just a few more minutes.

"They'll have bathrooms at the airport!" he replied faster than I'd expected.

"I-I won't be long! Promise!" I ran out to the bathroom and closed the door loudly for effect before tip-toeing back into my empty room. I stood silently at the door, just staring at my room in whole. Memories of all sorts played through my eyes like a movie scene. Clara and I comparing uniforms on our first day of elementary school, Andrew and I standing on a chair to point at things out of the window as toddlers, my dad helping me set up my bunk bed when I was 7... Me rocking out vocals to R5 tracks when nobody else was home.

"_Max!_" I could hear my dad getting impatient. He was probably about to come storming up the stairs so I gave one last little look at my room before grabbing my bag from the floor and racing out to muck around a little in the bathroom to convince everyone downstairs. As I left the room I made sure to turn my depressed slouch into a confident stride, wiping away any signs of me crying onto my sleeve as I did. I wasn't the type of person who would show those emotions to others at all. Even Clara had only seen me cry about twice. Once when my Dog was put down and the other after my Aunt died in a car accident a few years ago.

"I'm coming now," I cleared my throat to avoid any give-away squeaks.

It crushed me inside to watch my dad hand our house keys over to the real estate agent who merely gave us a _thanks-for-the-paycheck _kind of smile. I refused to react on the outside however, keeping a neutral expression showing as i climbed into the back seat of a cab. I wondered if our family's two cars had arrived in LA yet since they had been sent off for shipment about a week after the _big news_.

It took every ounce of my strength not to turn and stare out the back of the cab at my old home right until it was out of sight. Instead, I allowed myself a mere sideways glance, earning me nothing more than a painful metaphorical punch in the heart. I turned my eyes towards the back of the drivers head for the rest of the trip to the airport, not moving an inch in case it was all it took to break my concentration.

We met up with Clara and her parents at the airport as soon as we arrived. I was slightly intrigued as I surveyed the area, huge buildings and car parks were surrounding us. I had never been to the international airport, only the domestic for small family vacations. Clara was smiling and talking with my mum but I could tell better than anyone else that she wasn't her usual self. She was far less bubbly or jumpy than usual and here eyes showed highly visible traces of crying.

I offered to carry all of Andrews gear -which he gladly agreed to- alongside my mum's backpack and my own gear. The more I carried the more I could focus on the weight instead of the situation. I ended up walking through the airport wheeling along two large suitcases and managing three bags on my back. The weight was far less than unbearable thanks to all of my tough swimming training. I went on autopilot sending out little choruses of agreeing statements as Clara babbled on beside me, carrying only her light backpack and a small suitcase.

We went through the usual airport formalities including bag scans and passport checks before we were finally pushing through crowds to reach tour departure gate. By this time my brother and mum had taken back their bags and the suitcases had been sent off for loading so I was left with just my own backpack.

'Flight 2462 to Los Angeles is now boarding,' A recorded female voice announced through loud speakers. Clara and my parents were busily chatting as we headed towards the gate and joined the small queue of people getting boarding passes scanned. Clara and her parents went first and I watched as they walked down the tube like walkway that connected the terminal to our plane. In no time it was our turn and I fidgeted around as both of my parents and Andrew had their passes scanned and were shooed through into the tube.

"Excuse me Miss, your pass?" An overly friendly member of staff held out his hand expectantly. I snapped back into reality and fumbled through my jacket pocket until I found my pass. The man took it gratefully before scanning it, handing it back and pushing me off towards my family. I frowned as I strode down the slightly sloping path and into the cabin of the plane. The interior of the plane was set out like most others, each side having rows of three seats split by a long walkway in the middle. My eyes scanned the rows until I saw where Clara was waving from a group of seats on the right side of the plane. As I approached her I could see our parents and Andrew sitting in a group behind Clara. I shoved by bag in the overhead racks above our seats and slipped in beside my loyal friend. I smiled at the way she protectively lay out over her window seat with her hands curiously searching through a magazine she had found in a seat pocket.

In no time, a stewardess came out and demonstrated safety procedures including the inflation of a life vest before telling us all to clip up our seat belts for takeoff. We all did as instructed as the plane started taxiing towards the runway. I craned my neck over Clara to peer out of the small oval window onto the tarmac. Only about 20 meters away from the closest wheel I could see Australian soil. It pained me to know it was the last time I would lay eyes on it for a long time.

I closed my eyes and submissively slouched back into my seat, enjoying the moderately amusing sensation of rising into the air. Clara clapped excitedly and started nudging my shoulder with her elbow. I raised a single eyebrow in response.

"Just think, when we're in LA we might get to see R5 some time! I mean how cool would that be! M-maybe I could even hug Rocky! Can you imagine Rocky Lynch hugging _me_!" I had to hit her gently to stop her from squealing throughout the plane.

"It'd be nice Clara... real nice." I closed my eyes again, sinking into the relatively comfortable chair.

***15 hours later***

My eyes shot open when I felt a hand playfully slapping my cheek almost in time to an all too familiar giggle.

"Clara... Get the hell off of me..." I groaned shifting slightly.

"C'mon! We're about to land!" she squealed typically in my ear. At this news I shot up in my seat, automatically reaching to buckle myself in. I wriggled up into a proper sitting position, only now taking the time to wipe a sleeve across my blurry eyes and lean towards the window. The view I saw was not what I had expected. In my mind I had just pictured a lot of stereotypically American things dotting the landscape but It just looked like a normal city except for little details that gave it away.

"Los Angeles huh?" I shrugged in approval as I repositioned myself back into a normal position. Clara was bouncing up and down in her chair like an over excited little kid.

The plane landed without a fault and in no time at all people were rising from their seats and fussing over bags and children. I pulled my own bag onto my back and followed the crowd towards the aircraft's closest doors.

"Thank you for flying with us and we hope you enjoy the beautiful city of Los Angeles!" a stewardess smiled and repeated her line to both Clara's and my family as they passed through to the terminal. I sent her a polite smile as I passed, which was much more than she got from the grumpy mother and her screaming infant behind me.

The airport was way more crowded than the one back home... well our old home that is. People were rushing around in every direction. We went through yet more various formalities before finally collecting our luggage and heading out into the open. I wasn't sure what to expect of this. Was the ground going to feel weird? Was the air going to smell or taste differently? The only overly different thing I had noticed so far was the American accents of everyone we passed. I scraped my shoes along the ground as we walked towards a line of American cabs.

I remembered my parents talking about how we had managed to find two houses close to each other that were for sale so we would still be living close to the Anderson s. Apparently the two houses were on the same street too! Clara's house was at the very end of the slightly long street and we were in closer to the other end. I smiled at the thought of my best friend being only a short walk away.

"Max!" my mum snapped me out of my thoughts. I nodded. "Your dad, Andrew and I are going to go straight to the new house but would you be able to take a cab to a shopping center and get a few essentials of food? Just enough for a few days until we've settled in a bit more?" I frowned but still nodded at her. "I'll give you the address of the house and you can catch another cab back there once you've gotten everything ok? I topped up your credit card a week ago so there should be more than enough." I nodded again before she gave me a quick hug and handed me the address on a small piece of paper. "We'll take all the gear home and start some unloading. There should be a truck outside the house full of our boxes so I'll see you there Honey! Be safe!"

"See you there." I lightly nodded before walking towards a different cab. Clara gave me a little wave from the window of yet another cab where she sat with her bag on her lap. I smiled and poked my tongue at her before going to talk to the driver of my cab.

"Could you please take me to the nearest grocery shop?" I asked him as I slid into the back of the cab. The elderly man smiled before pulling away from the pavement.

"Sure thing. Welcome to La." he smiled, obviously taking in my accent. That was going to take some getting used to.

An hour later I was in yet another cab, holding three bags of groceries as it drove slowly through a suburban area. The driver pulled up outside a large house that looked slightly fancier than my last one in Australia. I checked the address that was scribbled on the piece of paper my mum had given me and confirmed it. This was my new house.

After paying the driver and giving him my regards I headed out of the car with my backpack slung over my shoulder and the three shopping bags in one hand. I stared at the two story cream coloured house as the cab drove off, wondering how long it would take to get used to the sight of it.

"Maxine over here!" I was pleased to hear my dad call me from the back of the large truck parked beside the house. I was less pleased with him using my full name. I strode over to where he was standing, feeling slightly jet-lagged.  
He handed me a large box which I clasped onto with my free arm. Looking down at the it I noticed that it was my very own 'MAX'S STUFF!' box. I smiled at the memory and started to head towards the door. Just before I reached it my mum came walking out to fetch one of the last boxes.

"Max you're back!" she smiled "We met the new neighbors when we arrived! They're really friendly and have 5 kids who all offered to help bring boxes inside! That's why we're almost done unloading the truck!" She ruffled my hair a little before walking over towards Dad and the truck. I smiled, knowing that I could hopefully I could make friends with these neighboring kids. I flicked my hair out of my face before proceeding towards the door.

Inside there was a set of stairs in the hallway leading up to the 2nd floor. I placed the shopping bags near a box marked to go to the kitchen before heading towards the stairs. I figured it would be a smarter idea to drop off my bag and box in my new room before going to meet the others. Upstairs, everything was carpeted so I kicked my shoes off and left them on the top step before continuing. I didn't even bother to check all of the rooms because I could see a box sticking out of one at the end of the hall that had my name on it. I stepped over the box and into what was my new room, glancing from all of the boxes to my already set up bunk bed in the corner.

I placed the box I was holding carefully onto my desk before dumping my bag on the floor with a slight thud. It took me less than 10 seconds to tear into the sealed box and start unloading a few things. I grinned stupidly as I got to lay eyes on my R5 poster for the first time since I had packed it away a month ago. I dug around inside the box until I found a small ball of blue-tack, carrying it and the poster to the wall space that was in between my bunk and the window. Once I had proudly pinned up the poster of my beloved band I sidestepped to look out of the window. The view wasn't as nice as my old one but it was somehow calming. It gave a clear view into my backyard, which disappointingly lacked a pool. I couldn't help wondering how far away the local pool would be for me to train in.

Taking a slightly better look around my room allowed me to take in the baby-blue walls and a white door leading to my very own en suit bathroom. I found this highly amusing since I had never had my own before and couldn't help taking a peek inside. It had a small shower and toilet next to a dresser and mirror, allowing heaps of space for makeup and hair products. All of the sorts of things I didn't have a lot of, or even liked using for that fact.

I walked back into the main part of my room and over to my poster again. My fingers traced the outline on a guitar pic drawn on by Clara in one corner. I looked downwards to where my R5 guitar pick necklace hung loosely and held it up close to the outline. Footsteps heavier than mine could be heard ascending the stairs, pulling me back into reality.

I forced myself to get back to work, heading over to open up some more boxes. I was expecting the owner of the footsteps to head into a different room but I was wrong.

"Oh hey, I thought I saw someone going up the stairs!" I jumped at the sudden break on silence. Whilst trying to turn around and see the owner of the smooth voice my foot caught under an unopened box and I fell to the floor spectacularly.

"Oh my god are you ok?" he sounded concerned, I could tell he was one of the neighbors' kids because of his American accent. I nodded as my face turned a deep shade of red. I kept my head down in embarrassment, afraid to even look at this new person.

"You must be Maxine right?" A hand reached down to help me up and I took it gratefully.

"That's me, but I really can't stand my name so I just use Max," I stuttered out. Great first impression Max.

That's when I looked up. My entire body froze in surprise. My eyes widened and I had to blink a few times to confirm what I saw.

"I'm guessing by that reaction and that poster over there that you know who I am!" He started laughing and I couldn't tear my eyes away from his face. Thank god something inside me forced me to nod and snap out of it.

"Well this is unexpected. A-are you by any chance our neighbor?" I regained my normal voice and appearance like I had trained myself to do so well. Yes, I trained myself to hide my true emotions.

"You guess correctly!" He kept laughing "Anyway let's go down so I can introduce you to the others, or rather introduce them to you since you seem to know us already."

"Sounds good to me!" I smiled and tilted my head to one side hoping to regain some of my lost pride.

"By the way, Your accent is awesome," He smiled back at me.

As we walked out of my room and towards the stairs my brain was stuck on the same sentence.

"_Oh my god. I'm living next to R5. I'm living next to Riker freaking Lynch!_"

**Oooooooh! Max isn't the greatest at first impressions as you may have guessed. I know that the chapters have been REALLY long so far but don't worry they won't all be this long if you don't want them to, just let me know via reviews. PLEASE review and tell me anything you have to say, good or bad I want to hear it. Thank you to those of you who are following or have favourited this story! I should get the next update our soon! Thanks for reading! Stay awesome and ROCK ON! 3**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own any people places or companies you may recognize in this fanfiction. I only own the storyline.**

**Hey guys! So Max is going to meet her idols! I wonder how she feels with this extra pressure added onto the weight of moving countries? How will Clara react? (by the way you'll notice that I will spell 'mum' using the Australian/British spelling when it's said by Max, Clara or their families but when it's any of the Lynches or other American characters I'll use 'mom' in order to put a bit of emphasis on the accents)**

****As I followed _Riker Lynch _down the stairs of my new house I couldn't stop myself from being grateful for my skills in hiding true emotions. I also couldn't stop myself from staring hopelessly at _Riker Lynch. _Everything about _Riker Lynch_ seemed so familiar yet so new at the same time.

Did I mention that I was with _Riker Lynch_?

"Riker is that you?" I became excited as I saw a flicker of long blonde hair at the bottom of the stairs. I wanted to fangirl So-o-o badly when I turned the corner and saw Rydel Lynch standing in what I guessed was my new kitchen.

"Oh you must be Maxine!" She smiled as she noticed me standing behind Riker. I smiled and waved at her as casually as I could manage right as three more people came in from another room to investigate what all of the talking was about. Rocky, Ross and Ryland Lynch.  
It took a huge amount of my courage to give them a friendly nod as well before speaking up.

"Yeah I'm Maxine but I really hate my name so I just go by Max," thankfully my voice didn't tip or show any obvious signs of my overwhelming nervousness and excitement.

"Cool name, I'm-"

"She knows who we are." Riker interrupted Ross, unable to hide a little laugh.

"Ah so you're an R5 fan?" Ross smiled knowingly as I tapped the R5 guitar pick necklace hanging around my neck.

"You could say that," I managed before Riker re-entered the conversation.

"You should see her room! The first thing she put up was one of our posters!" he laughed, causing me to wonder whether I was meant to be embarrassed or amused.

"That's so cool. Our neighbour is a fan!" Rocky gave me a signature half smile that probably would have sent Clara sprawling towards the floor unconscious. _Clara. _

"M-my friend Clara moved in down the road too! She's a huge fan too and I was wondering if you guys could say hello to her some time maybe?" Regret kicked in the moment I finished speaking. I was worried they would think of me as a total fangirl but instead they all started smiling.

"Sounds good to me!" I was relaxed by Rydel's sweet laugh.

The next half hour was filled with the exchanges of those random questions you tend ask people when you first meet them. You know the type. Rydel, Riker, Ross and Rocky quizzed me about Australia, all the while trying their hardest to imitate my accent. Unsuccessfully. Riker didn't speak as much as the others during this time, instead I kept catching him giving me these glances with an expression that made him look almost... intrigued by me?

It didn't take Andrew long to chum up with Ryland and start acting like they had known each other their whole lives but I however was still feeling extremely nervous on the inside. My outside of course was characteristically calm and happy, hopefully with an added twinge of fun. It wasn't like I wasn't having the absolute time of my life, I just felt like putting a foot out of line would make the world crumble around me. Just cheerful thoughts like that.

"Max do you want me to go upstairs with you so we can sort through some of the boxes in your room?" Riker surprised me with his casual request. Inside I was positively thrilled but on the outside I just gave an agreeing shrug and followed him upstairs.

Once we were inside my room I was surprised to find some new additions of furniture. There was now a set of drawers beside the door and a display/book case next to the built in wardrobe opposite my bunk.

"Your dad probably took them up here while we were all talking," Riker nodded as he surveyed the room, addressing my apparent confusion.

"Right," I agreed, not sure where to start work first. I scanned the room in search of the right box to open but instead found myself jumping in surprise as a strong hand patted me on the shoulder. My heart must have skipped a beat as I turned to see a very amused Riker flipping his blonde fringe from his eyes.

"I thought so,"

"Huh? Thought what?" my outside ego stepped into play.

"You looked like you were really nervous downstairs with the others so I suggested coming up here where less people were surrounding you, that way you could calm your nerves." my eyes bulged as his were staring intently at me.

"H-how did you..."

"Dunno', I just managed to see through your little calm act," he gave me a re-assuring smile "And judging by your reaction to me just putting my hand on your shoulder I could prove my thoughts." my mouth struggled to find a way to react as he continues staring with his hazel-brown eyes. It seemed like forever before I finally tilted my head down to stare at m shifting feet and spoke in a quiet voice.

"I'm... I'm not very good around new people. I'm always really shy inside but I force myself to act like a normal person so that other people don't get weirded out. I always get over it after a while and start acting like my usual self but at the moment I guess I'm just feeling more nervous than usual since we just moved here and, well... I really wasn't expecting to be living next door to R5..." There. It was out. I hadn't opened up to anyone like that for ages. I had never admitted this to anyone other than Clara, and even then it had taken years for me to do so. I felt weird opening up to someone so soon after meeting them but something about Riker made me trust him. Maybe it was the fact that I had always had quite the celebrity crush on him? Since I had met him in person I hadn't thought of him in that way though, more as someone I hoped to become good friends with.

My thoughts were interrupted by a pair of strong arms wrapping around my shoulders in a friendly hug.

"That's fine. Everyone get's nervous when they first meet other people and it's just a little bit worse for you. It's perfectly understandable so don't worry about it." I stood open mouthed, frozen in his embrace. His voice was so familiar after listening to him singing on tracks and talking on his YouTube videos so many times.

"Besides," he chuckled "After being around me and my family for a bit we'll act like all we're best friends!" I smiled and finally returned the hug, relaxing at Riker's words.

"Thanks," I smiled more like my usual self as I pulled back.

"Don't mention it," he ruffled my hair playfully before holding out a hand dramatically and speaking with a _terrible _Australian accent and acting as if he were announcing something to a crowd, "Max Locknel will be great friends with I, Riker Anthony Lynch and my fellow siblings!" I couldn't help but laugh loudly. He was right, I was already starting to feel more confident. I took his hand, still shaking with laughter and he started pulling me out of the room.

Riker pulled me to the stairs, swinging my hand and skipping in a goofy way while singing _We're off to see the Wizard_ from the famous musical and movie _The Wizard of Oz_. I laughed non-stop as he continued this right into the living room where the others were moving boxes and furniture. I still had my hand firmly caught in Riker's grasp, giving me no choice but to be dragged along as he continued to skip around all of the others, his voice rising with every word, earning us collective laughs from all of the other Lynch kids.

As Riker finally returned to a state of moderate sanity and let me free Ryland and Andrew entered the room.

"I thought it would be cool if Andrew and Max came over for a swim and dinner and stuff? I already asked our Mom and Dad and they said it would be great. They even asked for your parents to come over so they could get to know them more. Andrew asked your parents too and they said it would be a great idea." Ryland proclaimed with Andrew standing next to him.

"Mum and Dad said yes?" I frowned at Andrew. I would have thought they would want to work around the house since we'd just moved in. My brother merely nodded and smiled, seemingly as weirded out by their agreement as me.

"You up for it then?" Ross looked at me with his famous smile. As if I was going to say no!

"Hell yeah!" I practically jumped up and down with happiness. Riker gave me a smile and a little thumbs up at the way I was acting more natural. I smiled back at him before asking a serious question.

"Do you think Clara could come too? I'd feel bad if she didn't get to meet you guys too." I bit my lip.

"Your parents asked about that and she and her parents are invited too." Ryland answered immediately. I almost squealed a bit but managed to control myself and steer back towards the land of sane people.

"It's all decided then! We'll leave you for a while and you can call Clara and her parents. Meet us at our place in an hour, just go through the side gate by the way." Ryland continued happily. He seemed pleased with his plan and it just made me think that he must be a _really_ good manager for R5!

All five of my idols left after another five more minutes, each seeming to be almost as excited as I was to have a fun afternoon with new friends. After spending a while silently happy dancing around my new house I told my parents I was going to run up and tell Clara and her family about the invitation. I quickly asked my mum the house number of Clara's new residence before taking off.

As I pelted through my front yard I replayed R5 soundtracks in my head, mainly the song _Look at us Now_. I sprinted across my front lawn and over the spot where the moving truck had been last time I was outside. Since there were no cars on the streets around here I raced right into the center of the road and kept sprinting, using my swimming muscles to propel me along. My smile stretched from ear to ear, only softening when I glanced from side to side, checking house numbers for Clara's.

My mind raced just as fast as my legs and it made my smile stretch even further. I couldn't wait to see Clara's reaction.

Basically my thoughts on my first half a day in LA so far could be summarized by three words;

PRETTY FREAKING AWESOME!

**How excited do you think Clara will be? Especially knowing that she'll finally get to meet her dream boy Rocky. I had some SERIOUS writers block while working on this chapter and ended up literally bribing myself with cookies just to keep writing! I'm sorry if it isn't very good but it was last minute since it's Christmas Eve. PLEASE review telling me reasons why you either like or dislike my writing, I wanna hear both! To the person who I promised I would add in your character for I know I said it would be in this chapter but I fiddle with the storyline as I go so I still promise your character won't be far away! I'm not sure if I'll post a chapter tomorrow as it's Christmas but I promise I'll try! I love you all and in case I don't get to say this tomorrow, MERRY CHRISTMAS! ROCK ON! 3**


	4. Chapter 4

**I hope you all had a great Christmas! Sorry I couldn't post a chapter yesterday but I'm going to try to post two tonight! This first one won't be quite as long as the second one will be. Anyway happy reading!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any people, places or companies you may recognise in this fanfiction. I do however own the storyline.  
**

"Max!" my best friend's voice echoed through her new house. I stood outside of her door panting and supporting my upper body with my hands on my knees. Within second of me ringing the doorbell Clara flung open the door, practically suffocating me in the hug that followed.

"I can't believe how cool this house is! My room is huge!" I laughed as she finally remembered I needed to breath in order to live.

"You wouldn't believe what's going on," She stepped back and gave me a confused frown.

"What's going on? You're smiling like a complete idiot."

"I met my new neighbors!" I was squealing in a way that was way more her style than mine.

"And?" her eyebrows were twitching, deciding whether to look amused or worried. My face become stone serious.

"It's R5 Clara. I'm living next to Riker, Rocky, Rydel, Ross and Ryland Lynch..."

"If you're joking with me, it's not funny." her eyes were staring right into mine. I had always complimented her on those eyes. They were a truly spectacular green with a bright ring of yellow on the inside. The first time I had really noticed this I thought it was unnatural but now I just wished that mine were as incredible as hers. But no, mine have always been a deep brown colour.

"I'm not." I finally replied, never tearing our eyes apart. What happened next... let's just say Clara exploded from a rapid overdose of emotions.

"OH MY GOD!" she started jumping up and down whilst shaking me by the shoulders. I was slightly afraid the Lynches would hear her screams even from way down the street.

"I'm going to meet Rocky Lynch! Max do you know what this means to me!? Do you? This is like a dream come true! Actually _I _would have to be the one living next to them instead of you but it's still half a dream come true! Oh my god Max!" each word was like a punch in the face, causing me to pull away in fear of accidental eardrum bursts. I frantically tried to calm her down as I mentally asked myself whether humans were supposed to hit notes that high.

"When will I get to meet them?" she flicked some of her straightened blonde hair from her flustered face.

"You shouldn't frown like that, it'll cause wrinkles on your pretty little face," Clara absolutely _hated _it when I put off telling her important information.

"Max!" my wrists were now held captive.

"Ok, ok. They invited Andrew, me and my parents over this afternoon and said you and your 'rents could come too." The invitation took less then a second to sink in.

"MAX THIS IS INCREDIBLE!" my hands flew to plug my ears as she began another round of screams.

"Can I talk to your parents?" I yelled over her noise.

"They're inside. I'll stay outside to get my breath back for a while. You go ahead." I nodded before opening the large front door and slipping inside.

"Tim! Mandy!" I called for Clara's parents. I only had to sidestep a few boxes to walk down the Anderson's new hallway.

"Max is that you?" Mandy called back from another room. "We'll be there in a minute, we just have to move this table!"

"Need a hand?"

"We're fine sweety!" I lent onto one of the pale gray walls and used my free time to familiarize myself with my friend's new home.

"Ok what can we help you with?" they came walking in from a room at the very end of the hallway, dusting their hands on their pants.

"My new neighbors invited us all to their place this afternoon to get to know each other, you guys included." I cut straight to the point.

"Are Corey and Mel going?" Tim sounded interested as the eyes he shared with his daughter blinked out some dust.

"Yeah," I responded, knowing he was talking about my parents.

"Sounds good to me!" Mandy gave me a quick hug.

"Great! Meet my parents at my place in an hour or so, I'm going to take Clara back with me now."

"Can't I get some stuff first?" she came in as if on cue.

"Duh! We're going to!" I grabbed her wrist and started dragging her towards the stairs with after a quick wave to her parents.

"Which room is yours?" I demanded once we reached the top.

"First door on the right," I followed her directions and towed her along with me.

"Wow, it really _is_ big!" the compliment was rewarded by one of her killer smiles.

"Anyway where are your clothes and swimsuit?" I was shown over to a large pink suitcase. A warm breeze drifted through the open window, moving my cool brown hair out of my face. I smiled as I glanced at my reflection in Clara's full length mirror. My hair had gotten longer since the last time I checked, now reaching half way down my upper arms. I shook my head and got back to what I was meant to be doing. knealing beside the suitcase I ripped the zippers open, a smile still plastered on my face.

"I see you're excited!" Clara laughed as she knelt beside me.

"Well duh! I just met R5 and now I'm going over to their house with my best friend by my side!" the sentence was barely believable.

After a short time we had dug out Clara's bikini and a spare set of clothes. Each item was shoved into a tiny shoulder bag to take back to my place.

Five minutes later we were in my bedroom, ready to go. I was wearing my favourite blue and white striped bikini underneath a pair of denim short-shorts and a loose, white shirt with a yellow tie printed on the front. Clara had gone for a more girlie approach than I would ever dare. She had pink frilly bikinis under a short, floral summer dress. I was perfectly fine with her choice of clothing, knowing full well she liked that type of thing way more than me.

"Get in here!" she called from my bathroom. I _would_ have simply obeyed orders on my own accord but she had yanked me in before I could even turn around.

"I put on some of that waterproof makeup you got me for my birthday so what do you think?" Clara was surveying herself in the mirror. She was one of those girls who always wore makeup, but never huge amounts.

"You look fine like always," I raised an eyebrow. _I_ was _not_ one of those girls. Let's just say that the idea of putting on makeup every day appealed to me as much as an acid bath.

"Let me put your hair up!" she scurried behind me, interrupting my thoughts. I knew better than to argue with her when she was in this mode.

By the time I escaped my bathroom my hair was in a neat ponytail half way up the back of my head and slightly to the side whilst Clara's was pinned in a mainstream messy bun, showing off just how perfectly blonde it was.

"Why can't I look like you?" I thought out loud.

"Oh you look great Max! Don't sound so depressing right when we're about to go over to the Lynches!" She smiled before quickly pulling me back towards the mirror.

"Hey since when did I have those little blonde streaks?" I frowned at my reflection.

"Since about a year ago!" Clara laughed "They're sun-streaked."

"Fine, but let's go! I said we would get there before our parents so we'd better hurry up or that won't be the case!" I pulled her through my house and to the front door.

"You ready?" I turned to face her.

"As I'll ever be!" we pulled into a tight hug before heading out of the door.

A short walk down the driveway and a quick left turn took us to the footpath outside of the Lynches house.

"Look, look! This is where they shot their 'love me' cover video! And other ones too" Clara ran towards their garage door. I grinned hugely as I stepped up to her and grabbed a corner of her dress to pull on. I only had to tug for a second before she followed me eagerly towards the gate.

"Remember not to fangirl ok?" I turned to face her for some final words.

"I know. And remember I'm by your side. I know you get nervous around new people but you'll be fine." Clara gave me a look that could only be shared by true friends. I decided in a split second not to mention Riker seeing through my walls earlier in the day.

"Thanks," I gave her another hug before reaching forwards.

I fumbled around with the metal latch before pushing open the tall white gate.

**Woohoo! Party time! Sorry I had to haha. Anyway thanks for reading and being awesome as usual. PLEASE review, good or bad news I don't care. Thanks to everyone who has followed and favourited me as an author or this story. I know that at this point there isn't many of you reading so if you know any other Riker or R5 fans who you think would be interested I would LOVE YOU TO BITS if you linked them to this fic. Anyway I hope you enjoyed this and the rest of my fanfic so far! 3 ROCK ON!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Time for the little par-tay! Sorry... I'm over tired as I write this chapter. Anyway I hope you enjoy it! I wonder just how the Lynch s and Clara will bond? I don't even know yet, I just write it as I go haha. ENJOY MY MINION!... sorry again... I hope this weird mood doesn't show through into the chapter... I'll just leave you to it now...**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any people, places or companies you may recognize in this fanfiction. I only own the storyline.  
**

"Hello?" I called out into their backyard. The light clink of Clara closing the gate behind me was the only other sound that could be heard. Cautious was an understatement for how I was feeling right then. Clara's hand slipped into mine as we walked away from the gate and into the silence. The only noise was some sort of bird chirping loudly from a few houses away.

I completely jumped out of my skin as Ross opened his back door, breaking the tenseness hanging in the air.

"Hey Max! Oh and Clara I'm guessing?" he walked up to us happily holding out a hand which Clara shook eagerly.

"Yup! It's so awesome to meet you!" she turned back towards the door as the rest of the Lynch s came out. I could see her eyes lighting up as each one came to greet us, especially when it was Rocky's turn.

"This is awesome! Two people with cool accents!" he smiled at her which I knew was internally setting her on fire. It looked like she was _not _hoping to be just friends with Rocky in the way I was with Riker. And everybody else for that matter.

"You must be Max and her friend Clara!" a woman who I recognized as Stormie Lynch entered the little circle we had unknowingly formed.

"That's us! It's nice to meet you Mrs Lynch," a new smile curled my lips.

"Oh just call me Stormie. And do the same for Mark who's inside!"

"Alright. Our parents will be over in 20 minutes or so." she nodded at me before heading back inside.

"Well I don't know about you guys but I 'wanna go in the pool because it's freaking hot!" Riker stated before widening his smile. "You Australians can swim pretty well I hear?" he played a stereotype.

"Max was born to swim," My cheeks filled with heat as Clara started. I nudged her in the side but she just ignored me. "She's won _so _many medals and trophies in big competitions!"

"I-it's not really that much of a big-"

"Australians?! Who said Australians!?" A terribly fake Australian accent masked the voice that yelled from behind us. I spun on my heels to see Ellington Ratliff, the hilarious R5 drummer.

"We did tell you on the phone that they were Australian!" Riker gave his friend a high five.

"Oh, right," he switched back to his normal voice "Cool to meet you anyway.

"Introductions are over so let's get in the pool already!" Ross flung off his t-shirt and ran towards the still water of their pool. The rest of us walked over to the three poolside chairs near the house and undressed down to our swimming outfits. Clara -much to her delight- was chased into the pool by Rocky as soon as they were both ready. Riker and Ratliff soon followed, both letting out crazy screams as they did so. I was laughing like a little kid as I walked at a calm pace towards the pool, now dressed in only my bikini. I was slightly worried that the blue and white striped material would fall off if I attempted a huge dive bomb so I was planning on simply slipping into the pool but to my surprise I was lifted into the air instead. I yelped and craned my neck to look at my captor.

Riker must have gotten out of the pool without me noticing and snuck up behind me.

"You're not getting in like a normal person! I demand a spectacular entrance!" he put on a funny voice with a smile plastered across his face. I was swung around in his arms until he was holding me bridal style and before I could protest I had been carted over to the diving board. I smiled as I remembered seeing them all using it in multiple episodes of R5 TV.

"Look out below!" He screamed, running down the short length of the board with me still firmly held in his arms. I screamed as he threw both of us off the end and into the water. Any normal person would have been buzzing with energy when the were finally underwater but I had a different reaction. My heartbeat calmed and I felt blissful, not the slightest trace of nervousness was holding me back anymore. Being in water always had this effect on me.

I surfaced to the sound of everyone laughing, including Riker who was right next to me. My hands splashed water into his face as if they were programed to. I couldn't help myself and ended up smiling like a total maniac.

"It's on!" Rydel yelled, beginning to splash Ross with all of her might. He immediately returned the water fight, causing a chain reaction through everyone. Soon water was flying absolutely everywhere and we were all fighting to get breaths through the immense waves of water hitting our faces.

"Ok truce!" I heard Clara yell, finally allowing the sound of splashing water to transform into laughs.

"I _so _kicked everyone out of the park! Victory for Rocky!"

"You wish!" Ratliff gave Rocky a friendly shove through the water.

"There's only one way to settle this. Trick contest!" Riker yelled the last two words so loudly I thought the neighbors might complain... Oh right.

All of the boys clambered away from the water and towards the wall behind the diving board.

"We'll judge," Rydel shouted at them from where the three of us girls swam at the side of the pool.

Each of the boys took three turns to do a set of impressive tricks... except Ratliff. He just shuffled to the edge of the board and literally fell into the water in a belly flop... every time. After a tiny discussion between the three of us girls we laughed and announced Ratliff the winner because of his incredible skill level. Oh yeah.

It was about two hours later when I finally realized something.

"Hey where's Andrew and Ryland?" I frowned, halfway along the diving board.

"They've been inside doing stuff the whole time, probably video games." Rocky shrugged.

"It's kinda dark now guys. Should we go inside ourselves?" Ross' suggestion was met by around of agreeing nods.

A cold breeze greeted us all as we hopped out and into the early evening air. I let out an involuntary shiver as we were picking up towels and clothes from the poolside chairs. Riker gave my shoulders a rub when he noticed, sending a wave of warmth through my body.

After drying ourselves enough so that we wouldn't drip water throughout the house we slid inside. The air in there was free of the outside wind but still chilling. Rydel lead the way through the Lynch s' house, causing Clara and I to exchange an excited sideways glance every time we recognized something from their videos.  
It wasn't long before we were all standing around a group of doors which I guessed to be their bedrooms.

"Ditch your towels in the basket over here," Ross threw his own first which was followed by the rest of us' in a flash. "Us guys will quickly get changed in a different room so we'll see you soon."

As soon as the boys left Rydel led Clara and myself into what _had_ to have been her room.

"Ok, I knew you liked Hello Kitty but this is a bit... more than I expected," I let out a laugh that showed disbelief, almost backing out of the room. "It's so pink too!"

"This. Is. Officially. The best room ever!" Clara squealed as she ran around, inspecting every inch.

"Thanks! I keep all of my makeup in that drawer over there if you want to use any," she offered us.

"That's awesome! Thanks a lot, but I don't think Max will be as keen as me on that idea." Clara laughed while heading towards the drawer.

"Aren't you going to get changed first?" the confusion in my voice got her attention. While Rydel changed into a full set of dry clothes Clara and I slipped back into our clothes from before on top of our still slightly wet bikinis.

"Max can I do your makeup?" Rydel re-entered, sounding way too determined for my liking.

"Good luck getting her to say yes," Clara smiled knowingly.

"Who says she has to agree to it," I caught a sly glance that Clara and Rydel shared before backing up to the door.

"Oh no you don't..." I mumbled, biting my lip lightly. The next few seconds were a blur of pink and cunning giggles as I was chased around the room. I ran for the door, reaching out my hand in hope. I had just managed to open it when Clara caught the back of my loose shirt. I screamed as I was pulled back, wishing I had brought a tighter shirt that was harder to get hold of. Even though it seemed like I was done for there was no way I was giving in just yet. I ducked down and slipped right out of the shirt, running through the door in just my denim shorts and bikini top.  
I quickly shut the door behind me which muffled the hysterical laughs the two girls were letting out.

I let my head roll back to rest on the closed door, smiling as a sigh of relief escaped me.

"Should I even ask?" I hadn't noticed the boys standing in the hall, decked out in jeans and a mixture of jackets and hoodies, Andrew and Ryland included.

"Probably not," I shook my head laughing.

"You're not getting your shirt back unless you come back in here!" Clara called, trying to lightly push open the door I was leaning on.  
"I can deal with that!" I called back, pushing the door closed fully again.

"They're holding your shirt hostage?" Ratliff exclaimed whilst pretending to be utterly horrified. Typical of him.

"Fine! You have one minute to hide or else we'll come and get you straight away!" Rydel warned, failing to hide her giggles.

"Is this a hide and seek tag tournament now or something?" Andrew asked, grinning.

"That's _exactly_ what it is!" Clara answered from behind the door. All of us exchanged agreeing glances before racing away. Riker, Ratliff and I were the only ones who ran outside of the house, frantically spinning our heads in search of the best hiding places. I felt like I was ten years younger as I pelted towards a large tree in the back corner of the yard.

"Wait up!" a whispering voice snuck up behind be in the dark. I obeyed the orders when I recognized Riker's outline, standing still for a few seconds while he caught up before continuing towards the tree.

When we got there I silently searched for a low branch to pull myself up with but could seem to reach any.

"Crap..." I hissed almost silently.

"Need a hand?" Riker whispered, noticing my dilemma.

"I'll be fine," I risked a glance at him. My eyes had adjusted to the dark and I could now make out his features which were displaying concern. Now I was determined. I sidestepped around Riker so that I was facing the back wall. A tiny leap brought me high enough that I could reach the top. I used the power I usually conserved for swimming to haul myself up on top of the wall.

"Ok that's pretty cool." Riker nodded as I stood up. branches were now brushing my arms so I easily grabbed hold of one and swung myself into a fork in the tree. Within no time I was climbing up further, branch by branch until I was as high as I dared to go. I looked down to see Riker almost as high as I was and still working towards me.

"There's an easier way to your right," I pointed out to save him from attempting the much more complicated way he was trying to figure out.

"Thanks," he laughed.

"Look at Ratliff!" I giggled quietly when Riker was huddled in the same high tree fork as I was. He turned to see where I was staring and noticed Ratliff's highly visible outline lying face down on the diving board. Riker and I were both trying to stop ourselves from laughing too loudly when the wind picked up again. I sunk back into the tree trunk shivering and wishing Rydel and Clara hadn't kept my shirt with them.

"Aw! You look like you're freezing!" he whispered. I was getting ready to make up some other excuse for my shivering when he changed his footing and leant into my side of the tree fork. Warmth flooded my body as he wrapped his arms around my bare shoulders, the soft plaid material of his hoodie felt like a blanket. I immediately switched onto my self protection mode. Yet another thing I had trained myself to do. I hated showing any signs of weakness because it used to give other people more things to tease me about.

"I-I'm ok really..." my mumbles barely made it to Riker's ears.

"So you're shivering for fun?" he laughed quietly. I gave up and rested against him.

"Fine, you win." his chest rose and fell quietly as Rydel and Clara finally came outside, dragging a miserable looking Ross with them.

"It's not fair! You guys didn't count for long enough!" he complained like a little child. I suppressed a laugh as they easily spotted Ratliff in his 'hiding place' on the diving board. Both Riker and I were silently laughing as he tried to make a run for freedom but was tagged in no time. We froze again when the two girls went back to searching. I guessed they hadn't found Rocky, Andrew or Ryland yet.

As soon as the girls passed through the gate to check the front of the house Riker pulled apart from me and started taking off his hoodie.

"You're not hot are you?" I was a tiny bit shocked.

"Nah, I'm giving it to you genius," he laughed.  
"But then you'll be-"

"C'mon Max, let me be a gentleman for you!" I couldn't stop myself from laughing at his posh attempt at a British accent.

"You're insane," I smiled as he slipped the hoodie on me "Let's get down before they come back. If they see us up here there isn't exactly anywhere to run to!" I swung down from our tree fork and made my way back down to the lower branches. Just as Riker and I started walking back towards the house Clara and Rydel came back through the fence.

"The chase is on!" Clara called, sprinting towards us. Riker and I took off only to run into Rocky who seemed to have appeared out of thin air.

I was about to start running again when Ryland and Andrew came bursting out of the door to join the excitement, blocking my escape route in the process.

"I am the ultimate traitor!" Riker called as he ran up to me and grabbed my legs. I screamed as I was swung over his shoulder and left hanging over his back. He held onto my legs which struggled in front of him whilst my top half frantically tried to pull myself up using the back of his shirt. He carried me casually over to Rydel and Clara who were now giggling like maniacs. Soon all of the others were walking with us back towards the house.

As we passed our parents in the TV room everyone acted casually and gave polite waves. They just laughed as Riker passed with me still slung over his shoulder. My face was starting to go red from being upside-down and my hair swung below me. I was still staring hopelessly at the back of Riker's shirt when we entered somebody's room. By the looks of things it was shared by Riker and Rocky.

"Now what do we do with this thing?" Riker shrugged the shoulder I was hanging over.

"I'm getting dizzy you know,"

"SSH! You're a thing now so you don't talk!" Ratliff pulled a hilarious face as he shushed me.

"We need to put makeup on her!" Clara giggled excitedly.

"That's preposterous!" the boys pretended to act shocked and disapproving. "We must restrain these makeup crazed females!"

I was literally thrown onto the bottom of the bunk bed in the room before they all started attacking Clara and Rydel with pillows. I was absolutely thrilled for Clara when Rocky grabbed her around the waist and hoisted her into the air, knowing just how excited she must have been. Smiles were stuck permanently on everyone's faces for the next ten minutes until we finally tired and were flat out in different spots around the room. Clara kept giving me gleeful looks as Rocky rested his head on her lap and Rydel looked utterly disgusted by Ross' feet in her face. Andrew and Ryland were lying sideways on separate ends of Rocky's top bunk and Riker and I were doing the same on the bottom.

"Just let me get comfortable," Riker smirked as he moved his legs onto my stomach.

"Get off of me you walrus!" I groaned jokingly and pushed him aside just as the door opened.

"Look at the lambs, they've completely worn themselves out!" Stormie cooed and was met by amused nods from the other parents.

"Are you coming home or not?" my mum walked up to me and gave me a friendly poke in the arm.

"We need to get you guys home or you'll fall asleep here!"

**Riker's POV**

I smirked as we all got up from where we were lying. Rocky seemed to be getting along really well with Max's friend Clara so far which I was happy about. Clara seemed like a nice enough girl so I knew Rocky would be fine. I looked to the end of my bed where Max was getting up and running a few fingers through her brown and blonde hair. There was a cute bunch of freckles that dotted her cheeks and nose, making it obvious to anyone that she preferred a natural look to one that involved makeup and fancy facials. She was a lot of fun to be around but I wondered why she had so many walls up. What was it that made her so self conscious and protective of her feelings? I promised that I would find out some time, and maybe, try to help.**  
**

"Take a picture, it lasts longer," Max was smirking at me, showing off her fiery side. I hadn't even realized I was staring. I rolled my eyes before standing up with everyone else. The whole group of us started walking through my house and towards the front door. I kept noticing Max staring at things that had been in our videos and seeing little sparks in her eyes.

Soon we were all crowded outside of the front door and surrounded by the cool night.

"Oh my god I almost walked off with your hoodie!" Max spun around to face me without warning.

"I'm pretty sure your shirt is still hidden in Rydel's room so just keep it until tomorrow or whenever," Rydel gave us a mischievous grin as I said this. It was definitely something my sister did often.

"Are you afraid that I'll freeze whilst taking the treacherous journey from your yard to mine?" she dripped sarcasm.

"Just go," I laughed as she said goodbye to us all. Once Clara, Max, Andrew and their parents had said goodnight they left to go to the Locknel's house. I guessed that the Anderson s were going to stay over there for a little while before going back to their own house which was apparently just down the street.

"So are the kids nice?" my mom asked us when we were back inside.

"They're awesome!" we all agreed and shared smiles.

"Riker was Maxine wearing your hoodie?" Dad raised his eyebrows at me.  
Rydel beat me to the answer.

"I took her shirt hostage so he lent it to her," she laughed and our parents just shook their heads in amusement. I was pretty happy with how the day had turned out. When the house next door first went on sale I was afraid we would be stuck with someone boring as a neighbor but I guess I was wrong. Very wrong indeed.

**Max's POV**

I groaned as I flopped onto the carpet in my room, finally home. Clara was right behind me and followed my lead, ending up on the floor next to me.

"Well that was both super-mega-freaking-awesome and incredibly tiring," she mumbled at me. Trust Clara to keep talking even when we were both seconds from sleep. I pulled my arms out of the sleeves of Riker's hoodie and held them to my chest. I felt like I was inside a soft and warm cocoon.

"His hoodie is like, really big on you,"

"What did you expect? I _am _short." I managed a quick laugh.

"It's cute on you," I opened my eyes in surprise. My automatic reaction was to send off a smart comeback but I saw that my best friend had already fallen asleep on my floor. I sat up and slipped my arms back into their places in the over sized hoodie before standing to pull the blanket off of my bunk. I flicked it out so it fell lightly over Clara's sleeping form before joining her. My arms held my knees close to my chest as I drifted off to sleep beside her.

And just like that, on my first day in Los Angeles California I had met my favourite people on earth, moved in next to them, had the craziest fun time with them and enjoyed it all with my best friend who was now sleeping under a blanket beside me on my new room's floor. Any bad thoughts about moving were now completely erased from my mind, simply because they were very wrong. Very wrong indeed.

**Aaaaw, I want to be that close to my best friend! Haha I hope you enjoyed the chapter! I spent a fair bit of time trying to get it right! PLEASE review and tell me EVERYTHING you have to say! I love all of you and get butterflies in my stomach from merely seeing a new review. Thanks for reading! ROCK ON! 3**

**Bubbleslolz Thank you so much for your review last chapter and your character request which I do plan on adding into the story but I can't put you with Ross or Rocky like you requested! There has already been someone who asked for that and I still plan on putting them with Ross. Rocky (in case you haven't realized now ahha) is kind of interested in Clara so I can't put you with him either. I feel really bad and I'm sorry but I WILL still have you in the fic. I hope you look forward to seeing your character!  
**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey guys, as promised here's the chapter! I hope you enjoy! URxGORGEx here comes your request as well! Happy reading!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any people, places, companies or anything else you may recognize in this fanfiction. I only own the storyline.**

***CLARA'S POV***

The room was suddenly filled with resonating ringing sounds, rupturing the previous silence. I sat bolt upright within seconds, my mind racing. What was going on? Was that a fire alarm? A phone ringing?

"Mmmph..." My head whipped to the side to investigate the moan. Max was stirring beside me and lazily reaching for her smart phone. I mentally slapped myself in realization. The ringing was merely her phone alarm.

"What the absolute heck is your alarm on for?" I grunted, pushing some hair from my face.

"HOLY MOTHER OF-" I shoved a pillow in her face.

"Quiet! You'll wake up you parents!" the pillow was swatted away from her face just as she held out the phone for me to see. The screen was flashing a bright message into my sleepy eyes.

_Morning Max! Time for your first day of school! Mandy left Clara a set of clothes to wear and other necessities on your desk so once you're ready you can both go straight to school. Your Dad and I had to leave early for an introductory meeting at the new lab so we won't be able to drive you sorry. The directions to your new school are written on a notepad in the kitchen so you can walk or ride your bikes. Love you,_

_-Mum_

__"They're sending us to school the day after we arrive!" Max shrieked in my ear. I thought that was meant to be my job?

"Look just calm down and get up. We need to get ready I guess." I yawned and pushed myself up from Max's floor, dragging her blanket with me. I threw it onto the top of her bunk bed before pulling her to stand next to me by the desk.

"Ok where the heck is my uniform? Don't I need that?"

"This is America Clara, barely any schools seem to have uniforms,"

"Yes yes yes!" I squealed. This was the perfect chance to make a good impression on some Californian students. No dorky uniform for this girl!

***MAX'S POV***

****I could _not _believe my parents were doing this to me! What were they thinking? The sun was blinding me as it shone through the window and into my tired eyes.

"This is insanity," I grumbled, digging through a suitcase full of my clothes. I grumpily set up a lazy outfit that consisted of a pair of denim shorts and a tight fitting purple top. The sleeves were pulled up so that they didn't touch anywhere below my elbows. My R5 guitar pick necklace was tucked protectively under the shirt and I had thrown on a few bracelets and wristbands. My hair had been pulled into a lazy side ponytail and I was half-tempted to pin a little Australian flag into the top as a joke. The entire outfit was topped with a pair of black converse and matching Ray Ban sunglasses.

Clara... well I could tell she was going for a classy first impression. She was decked out in a floral summer dress and had somehow managed to add beautiful curls onto her blonde hair in only 15 minutes. Her face was dusted in a flashy layer of makeup, framed by delicate but expensive touches of jewelery. A pair of silver flats were all that she wore on her feet to complete her outfit.

"Well someone's dressing to impress!" I laughed, surveying her with an amused expression.

"Ha ha very funny, let's just get our bags and go! We don't have time for breakfast this morning." My groan probably could have been heard at the Lynch house next door but I decided not to complain any further. Little shivers of happiness trickled through my body as I remembered the incredible fact. I had almost forgotten about my new neighbors.

I shoved some books, a pencil case, my wallet and my phone into my recently dug out messenger bag and headed for the door. The soft cream colour reminded me of my old door back in Australia. Weird how I can get nostalgic over things as simple as doors, isn't it? Said door was about to close behind Clara and I as I realized we had left the lights on. My converse slammed into the gap, giving me just enough space to reach my hand in and flick the switch.

"Come on Max!" Clara urged from downstairs. My footsteps resonated as I ran throughout the house, trying to remember where the kitchen was. After a quick search it was found and we retrieved the paper with the directions to our school on it.

20 minutes of confusion, backtracking and frustrated walking led us to the front gates of what was going to be our school from then on. I almost had to pull Clara back by her backpack since she was walking so fast. The first building we came to had a large 'student services' sign on the front so we guessed it was the best place to show up first.

A tiny sound chimed through the air conditioned office as Clara pulled the door open. Nervous breaths escaped my lips as I surveyed the advertising posters pinned everywhere, showcasing a bunch of way too happy and good looking students smiling at things like math equations and librarians. Those general sort of things that in real life people don't actually smile about.

"Can I help you?" I jumped as a strict looking woman entered the office from a side room.

"Y-yes, we're new students. We were wondering if we could get our schedules?" I stuttered out, feeling weird about using the word _schedule _instead of _timetable _which is what we would use back in Aus.

"Clara-Rose Anderson?" The lady gave us an uninterested smile as she held out an orange piece of paper which Clara excitedly took.

"And you must be Maxine Locknel then?" I nodded and took my own paper, much more cautiously than Clara had.

"Welcome to the school ladies, class starts in 5 minutes so get a move on." the lady gave us both a nod, waiting for us to leave. I returned the favour with a polite smile before being dragged outside by my best friend.

"This is awesome! What class are you in?" Clara pushed some of her perfectly blonde curls from her face.

"A," my eyes couldn't stop staring nervously at every person in sight. There wasn't much of a difference between the style of clothing worn by these Californians compared to the Australian style I was used to. Their outfits seemed like they were either too tight or too loose for comfort but it somehow suited each person.

"Max! Max snap out of it!" A hand waved in front of my darting eyes and brought me back to the conversation.  
"Y-yeah?"

"I'm in class C Max! We are only together for two subjects!" she must have snatched my schedule for comparing reasons whilst I was zoned out.

"We need to go or we'll be late for class," my mumbles showed my obvious disappointment. "I'll meet you by that flag pole for recess." Clara pulled me into a quick hug after I pointed out the meeting place to her. It was noticeable that she carefully avoided creasing her dress or smudging her makeup as she did so.

The breeze blew a few loose strands of hair onto my face as I watched Clara race off excitedly, almost skipping. My breathing quickened as I made my way throughout the high school, avoiding eye contact with anyone and keeping a low profile. There were so, _so _many new people here I thought I was going to collapse from nervousness. I had never moved schools before, not even from primary to high school. Back in Australia my school was one of those ones that went right from 1st grade through to 12th.

'_It's ok to be nervous Max, you don't have to hide it.' _Riker's words echoed throughout my brain. The memory of the familiar voice calmed me and allowed my thoughts to become sane again.

'Ok Max, you can do this. You don't have to put on the act this time, remember what Riker told you.' The words barely escaped my lips and were only audible to my ears.

Two minutes later I was frozen outside of a blue door in a hallway of people who were slowly filtering into rooms of their own. I checked that the label on the door matched the one that was written on the paper I was holding before a trembling hand reached for the silver handle and slowly managed to turn it.

The room was a lot like I had imagined it to be. It was your typical American classroom like you see in countless movies and pictures, with rows of separated desks and a large whiteboard mounted on the front wall. I scanned the room of chattering students until my eyes fixed themselves on an empty desk by the window. My feet made an immediate beeline for the space without any clarification from my mind.

American accented voices blurted about the latest gossip or scandals all around me as I shoved my bag under the desk and pulled into the seat. I caught a few people staring at me in confusion, probably wondering if I had the wrong classroom. A quick tug let me open my bag under my desk and pull out a sketch pad and pencil to keep my mind occupied. The book was quickly flipped to a blank page where I started to sketch out a base outline of someone diving into a pool.

"Good morning class!" yet _another_ American accent entered the fuss, however this one sounded very commanding and managed to shut all of the others up. I hurriedly closed my book and flicked my head upwards to find myself staring at who I presumed was my new teacher.  
The room chorused with odd little good morning messages before returning to a comfortable silence.

"Welcome to another fun filled week of high school!" The teacher was a young woman who seemed to have a flaring and fun personality, obviously mixed with a bit of humor too.

"Boys just to let you know the first floor male bathrooms are out of bounds for today because a junior set fore to all of the toilet paper. Honestly it's about time something interesting happened around here! But you'll have to use the bathrooms on the 2nd floor if you need it today." A round of amused giggled and grunts were shared by the class before the teacher continued.

"Speaking of interesting happenings, we have a new student!" I immediately drew in a breath and quickened my heartbeat at her words. Her modern flowing dress swayed as she made her way purposefully towards me, weaving throughout desks as she did so. My face became tomato red as I felt the burning stares of every single person in the room preying on me.

"This is Maxine Locknel everybody, can I call you Max" I nodded quickly, forcing myself to look into her eyes. "Max has just moved all the way from Australia!" well that certainly got people talking.

"So you have an accent? Is it weird?" someone yelled from across the room. I opened my mouth nervously but was cut off before I could make a sound.

"Do you have a pet kangaroo?" another voice laughed.

"Oh give her some space guys! Anyway Max I'm Miss Webb, it's good to have you as part of our class." I smiled nervously as she strode back to the front of the room. I couldn't help but think that she seriously reminded me of Holly Holidays from my favourite show Glee.

_It's ok to be nervous Max, you don't have to hide it._

I spent the lesson silently taking notes in a book, afraid of letting people hear my accent. I certainly had listened to Riker yesterday morning since I hadn't shown a trace of confidence yet. I'm still not quite sure whether that was a good or bad thing.

When the bell finally began to ring through the loudspeakers everyone hurriedly grabbed their bags and raced for the door in a mad stampede. I however took as long as I pleased, avoiding getting trampled in the crowd.

"It's Max, right?" a friendly sounding voice startled me as I was slipping the strap of my bag onto my shoulder.

"Yeah," I turned to see the owner. A girl who was slightly taller than me with long, wavy caramel hair stood smiling at me.

"Do you want me to show you around? I know what it's like to be the new kid from another country," a knowing smile reached her cherry lips. That's when it hit me.

"Y-you're British?" I exclaimed in surprise.

"Oh really! I hadn't noticed!" she laughed as we both walked through the colourful room towards the door, stopping right in front of it for some reason.

I was puzzled until she held out a hand. I shook it happily, glad to finally have someone taking me seriously. The girl was wearing black skinny jeans and a green and white striped t-shirt.

"I'm Mackenzie Jade, but you can call me Mackie,"

"Cool to meet you!" I suddenly felt more confident with a new friend by my side. The halls were absolutely flooded with crazed teens who were heading towards the outside cafeteria like tumbling waves. Mackie gave me another knowing smile before we slipped into the crowd.

I was moderately confident now. And it wasn't an act.

**Well hello there. :) haha Thanks for reading so far! I hope I'll be able to update tomorrow. HAPPY NEW YEAR to everybody, it's only new years eve as I write this but it probably will be 2013 by the time people read it! PLEASE review and as always, I want to know anything you have to say, good or bad. I hope you all have a great new year! All the best! ROCK ON! 3**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hello minions, hope you're all faring well this lovely 2013 day :) Haha anyway, onto the fic! Hope you enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any people, places, companies or anything else you may recognize in this fanfiction. I do own the storyline.**

***CLARA'S POV***

****That was the best lesson I had ever had! The teacher was slightly stuck up but it was like he was blind! We got away with _so_ many things we weren't supposed to do! All of these sweet Californian boys were complimenting me on my outfit and hair, not to mention how they went on about my accent!

"Clara you should totally sit with us at lunch! It'd be really cool!" my new friend Abby was grinning a killer smile at me from a few desks away. The room was bland but still interesting because it was just so different from the classrooms Max and I used to have back in Australia. Max.

"Oh it sounds really awesome but that friend I was telling you about, we were kind of going to meet up?" I basically asked for her permission.

"Look Clara this is _the_ number one group in our grade so it's not often we invite someone to join it. The way you described your... friend, made it seem like she, well, wouldn't fit in this group so it's just an invitation for you. Ok?"

My heart sunk a little at her words but how could I pass up on this opportunity? I would get to be one of the really popular kids if I did this! Max would understand, I was sure. Besides, Max only ever wanted others to be happy so she would know this makes _me _happy. Even if I barely got to see her during school we would still hang out all of the time afterwards! She would be fine, definitely.

"Sure thing, It's 'gonna be great!" the bright yellow colour of my book cover reflected my mood perfectly. Bright and happy.

***MAX'S POV***

****Mackie and I had managed to survive the raging current of food craving teenagers in the hall and escape into the relaxing freedom of the outside cafeteria. It was basically a huge square of green in the middle of a huge group of school buildings, dotted with large shading trees and many, many lunch tables. At first it seemed like any space was free but after a closer look these students were like animals in the wild, fiercely protecting their territories. The popular kids had the best tables, mainly beside the prettiest gardens or the shadiest trees whilst the rest of the area was left for the weaker parties to scavenge.

"Hello? Earth to Max?" Mackie was waving her arms in front of my face and snapping her fingers.

"Y-yeah, I'm back. Just thinking to myself sorry." stuttering really seemed like my thing today. I followed Mackie like a sheep to a building on the far side of the grassy square that was apparently where we had to pick up our food.

A hastily moving queue brought us to the row of food bars faster than I had expected. Following Mackie's lead I grabbed a tray from an ever demising stack and hurriedly threw on a sandwich, muffin and a small carton of milk. Basically it was all I could get before the line of people behind me physically pushed me out of the way.

"Welcome to an American high school," my new friend laughed and started pulling me back towards the other side of the square -which I had now decided was it'd official name- and towards a large thicket of bushes.

"This is The Den, as my group likes to call it. There's a little passageway through those shrubs that brings you into this awesome little cavern inside of them. You coming?" I nodded, impressed by what I hadn't even seen yet. Mackie sure was great to have as a new friend. Friend. Clara. Crap.

"Actually Mackie I told Clara that I'd meet her somewhere this break,"

"Cool," she sounded slightly disappointed "I'll see you in class then! See if Clara wants to come and sit with us tomorrow ok?" I nodded happily before leaving her to head towards the flag poles.

After awkwardly walking through some empty school hallways carrying my barely filled tray I made it to the outside area around the flagpole. The grass here was greener than what was in the square, only because it wasn't walked on as often. The American flag flew proudly over my head as I sat cross-legged under the flagpole with my tray resting on my lap.

"Where is that girl?" I spoke quietly to myself. I was the only other person in the area and it was well into the lunch break already. My mind clocked through hundreds of possibilities as I quietly munched through my lunch and downed my milk. Could she be in a detention? No, that was not her style at all. Maybe she forgot the meeting place?

Just as I was setting my empty tray on the grass beside me an unsteady vibrating startled me.  
I fished my phone out from a pocket and began to stare at my newly received message.

_Hey Maxine xoxo just kidding gurl! top group in our entire grade invited me 2 sit with them at recesses from now on! isn't that gr8! Don't worry, we'll still talk all of the time after school tho! cya this arvo! :D_

_-Clara_

__Well wasn't that just what I should have known _before _the bell started ringing to go to class! Hmm?

I tore open my bag and carelessly dropped the phone inside, not really caring too much about it. Normal people probably would have felt angry or upset about being left behind but I was ok about it. I knew how much being invited to be in 'the cool group' would mean to her so it made me happy that she was happy. See where I'm going here?

My shorts were a little grassy but that was nothing a quick dusting couldn't fix. Within minutes I was standing outside of my next classroom, thanks to the little map on the back on my schedule. I met Mackie and a few steps into the classroom and we sat next to each other at the back. Apparently fun-loving Miss Webb was _not _our teacher for this subject, instead we were stuck with a monotone sounding man in his sixties who talked about physics as if it were his wife. Don't ask me how that was possible, just don't bother.

***after school***

****"Get. Open!" I hissed, trying my hardest to push open my front door. A smaller box had fallen from where it was stacked and wedged itself in the door, creating a struggle when opening it. Me being such the graceful, polite princess type girl I was allowed me to shoulder barge it. Once inside I pushed aside the now slightly deformed box with a foot before pulling the door shut.

The house was silent except for the faint sound of birds leaking through windows. Andrew wouldn't be home from his school for a while since it started and ended an hour later than mine. I surveyed all of the downstairs part of my house and gave it many approving nods. A lot of boxes were unpacked and it was starting to look slightly more like a home than an empty house. Even with this little discovery, it still didn't feel like _my _home.

I trudged up the stairs and into my room, throwing my bag onto the floor. Within no time I had kicked off my converse and was slumped in a lazy position on the office chair I had beside my desk. My feet skidded around as I used them to push the rolling chair back towards my bag, which wasn't easy on carpet. Without getting up I grabbed at the bag, managed to retrieve my phone and roll back over to the desk. I clicked the screen to life and took seconds to punch in Clara's mobile number.

"Max I really can't talk now sorry! I'm at the mall with Abby and the gang and I won't be back for ages! I'm so sorry but I swear I'll talk to you later! See you!"

My mouth dropped open. Clara hadn't even let me talk! I forced myself to regain normality before quietly putting the mobile down. Sitting there silently allowed my brain to rant on for as long as it wanted to. Sentences like 'Who the heck is Abby?' and 'Since when does Clara say mall?' replayed more than others but I couldn't answer any.

Something convinced me to snap out of it and make myself useful. I decided to finish unpacking my room _completely_ before my parents got home. All I wanted was for my mind to be pre occupied because inside, I knew. I knew that somewhere, in the back of my mind, I was upset that my best friend had already found other people. Maybe replacements? I knew that if I didn't find something else to think about I would get upset... and maybe mad. That was _not _going to happen on my watch! I had to be my usual, cheerful self. Cheerful Max.

The rest of the week passed by slower than any before. I spent every recess with Mackie and some other new friends in The Den, keeping to the side of conversations and not attracting any attention to myself, after all, I was still just the new girl. I barely even saw Clara. My 'best friend' only spoke to me via brief text messages and a few words when we walked to school together one of the days. I had to admit that I needed something better to do when I got home. The entire house was unpacked after a few days of my obsessive work and I was left wondering what to do.

Luckily, the Lynch s had told me that I could use their pool for practice any time I wanted. Hours and hours went by as I spent entire afternoons focusing on my swimming, going back and forth across the pool so many times I was learning to recognize the tiniest lines and specs on the bottom. I was never interrupted by the family themselves because they were spending the week away to do some fund-raising R5 shows in another city.

When my last day of school for the week was over I did the now usual routine of quickly changing and heading over to start my hours of laps. Just as I walked through my front door I saw someone walking down the pathway to my porch. That someone was wearing a skimpy pink top and mini-skirt, showing off tanned legs. Her makeup was caked on thick and she held an expensive looking purse in one hand. One week in Los Angeles and Clara was already a completely different person.

"Hey Max! Abby has family things going on today so I thought I'd hang out with you!" she stepped onto my porch, smiling like a doll. Who was this? Where had my best friend gone? The moment she gave me a dumb bimbo look made me just snap. Those thoughts that I had pushed to the back of my brain exploded and raged through my mouth like word vomit.

"Why!? Why should we? Is it because we're _best friends_? Well I thought one best friend wasn't supposed to completely ditch then ignore the other one as soon as an opportunity for her to become a popular kid comes around! You acted like I didn't exist when I needed at least something familiar in this freaking storm of newness but apparently you can only be bothered with me when your new _bestie _Abby is busy!" I had gone from angry snapping to full on shouting and I just couldn't stop. Thank god nobody else was around.

"Look at you Clara! Look what those so called cool kids have turned you into! I can barely recognize you!" Clara was staring at me in disbelief, her mouth slightly opened. I guess she was used to the positive and care-free Max. Well that Max had been boiling up her emotions inside and the time-bomb had finally gone off.

"Look Max, maybe we can arrange times to see each other! Like schedule?" she put on a brave smile, hoping I was stupid enough to just stop and make her life oh-so-perfect.

"A schedule! A freaking Schedule! Clara we shouldn't have to schedule when we meet! When we talk! You don't control me and I'm only interested in being friends with the girl I used to know!" Tears started rolling down my face. I was both screaming and crying my eyes out now, which I can assure you, was not a pretty sight.

"What happened to the fun loving and caring girl I loved to be best friends with! A week ago we told each other everything and spent all of our time together and now you're some stuck up jerk who wants to schedule when we see each other! I want Clara-Rose Anderson and as far as I can see now, you're not her!"

Clara was staring at me, a single tear rolling down her face.

"M-Max I'm sorry-" she reached towards me.

"No! I don't want to listen to your lame apologies! Go home! Go home!" I yelled, sobbing so hard it hurt to breath. "Go home and don't talk to me until the real Clara is back!" I stepped back inside of the door and slammed it shut before sprinting up into my room and collapsing on the floor, heartbroken.

My emotions rolled out through sobs and shuddering, slowly but surely easing off. I had finally done it. I had stood up for myself and let out what I truly thought. Never in my entire life had I done anything like it and I couldn't decide whether I felt pleased or horrified. All that I knew was that I needed to calm down. To do the one thing I knew I _could _do right. To swim.

**O.O Max is finally letting some true emotions show eh? Interesting. I hope you enjoyed it or at least thought it was ok! I'm going to start the next chapter straight away but it won't be as long as this one. Not sure if it'll be uploaded right away but I'll try! PLEASE review and tell me anything, either good or bad I wanna know it all! haha ROCK ON! 3**


	8. Chapter 8

**Ok here goes! As always I hope you enjoy :)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any people, places, companies or anything else you may recognize in this fanfiction. I do own the storyline.**

***MAX'S POV***

I checked three times to make sure that Clara was gone before I dared to leave the house. Silent tears were still rolling down my face as I made my way into my neighbor's backyard. My towel was back inside my room but I didn't even care, I just wanted to slip into the welcoming water.

As soon as the pool was in view I ran towards the diving board and expertly lept off, making a smooth dive. My hair was pinned to the side of my head as I shot into the cool, calm and glistening water like a torpedo. My arms and legs worked automatically like I was walking, running by a pattern I had known for so long. Left arm, right arm, left, right and breath. Left, right, left, right and breath.

It felt weird to be crying underwater since my tears would just mingle with the pool water and disappear. Just as I started to go into a mode where I mindlessly lapped the pool, making the tiniest adjustments to my strokes for improvement a sudden strong current broke it. I dropped the professional practice and shot upright in the water so fast my head started spinning. Someone had dived into the pool.

As I rubbed some chlorine from my eyes I racked my brain for an answer. Who the heck was in the pool with me? The Lynch s weren't meant to be back for another day!

"I knew you were good at swimming but you look more like an Olympian now that I've actually seen you do it with my own eyes!" An all too familiar voice gave me the answer.

"Riker?" I frowned as I saw his bleached blonde hair flopped across his face in a wet mess.

"The others are coming back tomorrow but I decided to leave early. I didn't exactly feel like taking part in Rydel's pre-planned shopping day," he trailed off laughing but then something made him wade towards me, his face now completely serious.

"Max what's wrong?" I flinched as he grabbed my shoulders. It was Confident Max's time to shine.

"Nothing's wrong, are those new board shorts?" I smiled at him, making sure there wasn't a hint of sadness left on my face.

"Don't change the subject. Your eyes are red as hell. What were you crying about?" he pulled me towards the shallow end of his pool so we could both stand up easier.

"Must be the chlorine..."

"Stop doing the whole happy act, Max what's wrong? Do you want me to call Clara or something?"

I was absolutely frozen on the spot. Every single muscle in my body locked up like a car seatbelt during a major crash. My breath stopped in my throat and my heartbeat turned into one of Ratliff's drum solos. I was afraid of moving because I knew that I was one wrong move away from bursting into tears.

"Max?" Riker frowned at me half a second before I pulled away from him. Tears started to chase other droplets down my already wet face as I pushed through the water, attempting to make it to the side so I could climb out and run back to my house.

Barely a few steps into my attempted escape Riker caught up to me and pulled me towards him.

"Hey, it's alright. Whatever it is, it'll be alright Max," he pulled me up to his bare chest, wrapped his arms around me and rested his head on mine, all in one swift movement.

"I-it's not. It's not going to be alright!" I sobbed out, collapsing in his arms. He walked me over to the edge of the pool, never once releasing me from his embrace. Riker had made us both sit on the steps leading out of the pool so now the clear water sloshed around only half of us. He had me wrapped in his arms, my head shaking against his strong shoulders.

"Shh, calm down. I'll wait until you've calmed down then you can tell me." A reassuring hand stroked my dripping hair, sending shivers down my spine.

My eyes risked a glance upwards as soon as I thought I could talk. My mind quizzed me as I did so.

Was I actually going to tell this guy? I barely new him! Well, he barely new me but I trusted him. Something made me trust him.

***RIKER'S POV***

****Max shuddered as she leaned into me, making my body automatically hold her closer. I kept on running my hands through her hair and rubbing her shoulders as she told me everything, and I mean everything. I had been afraid that she would keep quiet and put one of her walls into action but that wasn't the case. Something had badly damaged one of those walls, allowing me in. As she explained it all to me I found out what that something was.

Clara had seemed like a great person when I had met her a week prior but the way Max was describing her made me wonder if this was a different Clara entirely. The two of those girls had been so close when they were over in the pool with me and my family yet now it was like they were on totally different planets.

"What am I supposed to do? We've never fought before, not like this," I bit my lip and stared up at the late afternoon sky.

"Clara knows what she's doing now. You told her exactly how you feel and knowing your personality it's not something you do often. She'll probably be a bit shocked for a while but don't worry, I'm positive that she'll come around." Every word was true. Max was _not_ someone who went around shouting her feelings and Clara just had to come to her senses. It felt as if at that moment, I was the only thing Max could be sure of. Like I was the one thing that was protecting her.

***an hour later, MAX'S POV***

****The house was completely empty except for me. I had told Riker that I was going to go home and think for a while which he seemed skeptical about.

I headed straight for my bathroom and filled the bath with lovely warm water. The perfect place to think. I hadn't even bothered to take my bikini off as I slipped into the warmth, leaving only my face above water. The ceiling was a dull grey, only interrupted by the light in the center, which I hadn't even bothered to switch on. Each wall was the same boring grey but thank god at least the tiled floor was mildly interesting. It was made of layers of incredibly smooth little stones that made it look slightly natural but still modern. A louvered window allowed steam to escape close to the ceiling. Within no time I had started my own little conversation with myself inside of my head. It was like a tiny devil lived inside of me and was trying to upset me.

_Max what were you thinking, going off at Clara like that!? It probably was your fault somehow._

_No, no it wasn't. I finally stood up for myself.  
_

_Remember the last time you tried something like this?  
_

_Shut up.  
_

_Remember how that turned out? Hmm?  
_

_Stop it.  
_

_Can you picture her? Do you want it to turn out like that again?  
_

_SHUT UP!  
_

__I was clenching my fists so much it hurt as I ripped the plug out so the water drained. Forcing my mind clear I left the bathroom and went to my desk, throwing a towel on the office chair to avoid dripping on it when I sat down. My laptop screen came to life when I circled my finger over the touch pad, showing off my R5 wallpaper. A tiny smile escaped my lips.

I was not going to let this turn out like the last major drama that I was involved with. That couldn't happen again, it just couldn't.

**What happened last time I wonder? Hmm? Well I know already, but you'll just have to wait and see :D Mwahahaaa! PLEASE review as always, blah blah tell me anything. I have space for one or possibly two side characters to be part of Mackie's little group in The Den so if you want to be a small part of this story then give me details of your character via a PM. If you have any ideas or thoughts you are willing to share please tell me as I love getting feedback :) Sorry it wasn't a long chapter. ROCK ON! 3**


	9. Chapter 9

**Hey all, hope at least a few of you were intrigued and wondering what 'happened last time'. Anyway, here goes the next chapter! Hope you enjoy this chap! ;)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any people, places, companies or anything else you may recognize in the fanfiction. I do own the storyline and my OC.**

***CLARA'S POV***

From the moment I left Max's yard that day my mind was screaming. I finally realized what I had done; what I was doing to my best friend. Max _never _cried! The last time I had seen her cry was when…

Well that's not important. She was not the type of girl who told people her problems or even her real emotions most of the time. I knew her better than even her family since she was never one to share really personal information with them. Max was my best friend and I had completely ignored her and then when I finally did want to spend time with her it was for stupid reasons!

'Max was my best friend,'

I hated that sentence. Sitting alone in my large room I boiled with rage. How could I even think that?! It was stupid! It was hateful! It was sad…

The only reason I hated that sentence was because of one word. _Was._

That word is past tense, meaning it used to be like that. It petrified me to even consider the fact that I may never be able to replace the word _was _with the word _is _again.

As I sat there, slowly allowing my thoughts to calm and become rational, I looked around my room. Back in Australia my room was absolutely filled with memories of Max and I playing, smiling, laughing, singing and talking together but here it was different. My LA home barely had any traces of my best friend. Staring around my old room would have brought me happy and welcome memories but as I did the same in this new one, there was barely any.

All I had to remember was when, on our first day here, I showed Max my room. She was absolutely beaming and amazed by it. She was happy. I missed that happy face, I missed laughing and smiling with her. I missed talking and sharing secrets I trusted nobody else with as she did the same.

I missed my best friend.

Max was a lot more fragile than she let on. Her feelings may not always be on show to the world but she sure as heck had a lot of them! I knew that if I truly wanted my best friend back I couldn't just waltz up to her front door, say sorry and hug it out. Not going to happen. I needed to find some way of reaching back to her and showing her that I really did care and was going to stop being this 'other Clara'. I didn't even care about Abby or 'the gang' when I really thought about it. They were just a bunch of judgmental and mean people!

I needed a plan and I didn't care how long I had to sit there to think of one.

***RIKER'S POV***

The next day for me started with a warm, morning light flickering through my open window and into my tired brown eyes.

Groaning, I rolled over a few times then sat up in bed, my sheets hanging from one shoulder. I lazily flicked them off before heading down to the kitchen to grab some breakfast. The rest of my family would be home that day so I knew not to leave much of a mess.

As soon as I had eaten and cleared away any mess left I left the house. It didn't take me long to reach my destination since it was only next door. I straightened my t-shirt and ran my hands through my blonde hair quickly before casually ringing the doorbell.

The gentle tones were barely audible through the Locknel's front door but I knew that they would be able to hear it loud and clear. It took no time at all for me to start hearing light footsteps hurrying down the stairs towards the door. Soon it clicked open and Mel Locknel stood before me, smiling as she pulled off a pair of oven mitts.

"Well good morning Riker, it'd good to see that you're home! What can I help you with?" I couldn't help smiling at her Australian accent.

"I was just wondering if Max was home actually. She, uh... I was gonna show her where our band practices. since she's a fan and all!" My excuse came to me in an instant.

"I'm sure she'd love that! When we came home last night she seemed to be acting a little weird actually," Mel's voice lowered a little, obviously not wanting Max to hear from wherever she was in their house.

"Weird like sad?" I frowned immediately.

"No not sad, that girl is never sad!" Mel laughed. To seem casual I gave a small laugh too, acting like I was amused but really I was way more concerned. How could Max be so afraid of sharing her feelings that she didn't even let her family know?

"She was just being a lot quieter than usual. Not quite as fiery if that makes any sense." I nodded, feeling strange because I knew more about this girl's problems then her own mother. "Well I'm sure your little tour will raise her spirits again! I'll just go and get her for you!" I nodded for the second time as Mel turned and started to walk into a room I remembered to be their lounge room. The short time I was left alone at the door I used to peek down the Locknel's hallway. It wasn't something I usually would have done but I was curious to see how the house looked now that they'd settled in.

"You're seriously going to show me where you guys rehearse!?" Max came bursting into the hallway. Her mom followed almost cautiously. She was probably afraid that her daughter would start screaming in excitement.

"Well yeah," I laughed, surprised at her excited face. It made me feel great to see her smiling so much after how I'd seen her the day before.

"Oh my GOD!" She ran up to me and started dragging me out of the door, not even looking back. I managed to give a quick wave in the direction of her house before I was in my yard and out of sight.

"I'll take it that your happy about this?" I laughed as Max finally let go of my arm. We were standing at my front door and it was obvious that she was trying to suppress her smiling. She nodded quickly before I pushed the door open and stood back, holding it open for her.

"After you Miss," I put on my British accent and bowed, trying not to laugh as she quickly stepped through, not wanting to be fussed over.

She followed me like a lamb until I reached the door to our rehearsal room.

***MAX'S POV***

That was the most excited I had ever been in my entire life. My lip was starting to hurt from biting it too hard but I only stopped because I was afraid it would start bleeding! My eyes couldn't have been wider as Riker pushed open the door, standing as far away from me as possible to avoid being stampeded.

I couldn't stop grinning as my feet dragged me into the room. The entire space seemed like it was built to enhance sound and it was filled with all of the band members' instruments. I rushed onto the elevated area that represented a stage, my eyes darting around and inspecting every inch of it. Riker followed behind me, laughing the entire time. From left to right there was Rydel's keyboard, Rocky's lead guitar, Ross' rhythm guitar, Ratliff's drum kit and Riker's bass.

"These are your instruments!" I let out in one quick breath.

"Well I should hope so," I turned and gave Riker a friendly punch in the arm before wandering over to where his bass guitar sat on a stand to the right of the stage. It was incredibly glossy and shiny, looking like it was brand new. I knelt down and let my hands brush lightly over the strings, imagining each chord that would play out if I were fully strumming it.

"Ever played before?" Riker knelt next to me and gave me this curious little half-frown. A new grin suddenly spread across my face as I realized he was wearing his glasses. The black rectangular frames actually looked good on him in my opinion but I knew he wasn't fond of them.  
If I hadn't been close to losing my balance I would have stayed zoned out for a lot longer.

"Not bass but I play lead guitar, acoustic and a few songs on the keyboard," I felt a bit weird saying it as I regained my balance. I used to play all of the time using an old electric guitar I had bought for cheap but that had completely stopped working a few weeks before we moved from Australia. Concerning the keyboard, well, I only got to play that at school.

"That's awesome! You should try playing something!" he seemed incredibly enthusiastic. I blushed as he pulled me up by an arm, handing me an instrument that I recognized to be Rocky's guitar.

"A-are you sure Rocky wouldn't mind?" I couldn't stop myself from stuttering.

"Go ahead, we'd all like to hear you play I'm sure," A voice startled me from behind. I whipped around so fast that my hair almost blinded me. The rest of the band had returned home.

"Rocky?" I gasped in surprise. He stepped forward and gave me a fun hug before letting me get the same treatment from Rydel, Ross, Ratliff and Ryland. Riker shared a few high-fives with his siblings and friend as I proceeded to stand there in awe. My brain refused to compute to the fact that I was standing in the Lynch house, in the room where R5 practiced and surrounded by the members.

"So you're gonna play, right?" Ross handed me back Rocky's guitar which had been removed from me for the round of hugging.

"I... I guess," Riker steered me by my shoulders until I was standing in the center of the little stage, a microphone in front of my face and Rocky's guitar in my hands.

_Just try your best Max. _I thought to myself.

** I am pleased *_* Haha it took me ages to write this chapter because I am just SUCH a procrastinator! Sorry I've been quiet for a few days! Anyway I know that this wasn't exactly an eventful chapter but I promise it'll get better later! PLEASE review no matter what you have to say! I would LOVE it if I reach 20 reviews for this story... I know it doesn't sound like much but every single one just makes me day so much brighter and encourages me to keep writing. Thanks for reading and don't forget, ROCK ON! 3**


	10. Chapter 10

**Well I hope this chapter's alright, as usual XD Anyway, feel free to tell me anything you think about my fic! **

**Disclaimer: I do not own any people, places, companies or anything else you may recognize in this fanfiction. I do own the storyline and my OC.**

***MAX'S POV***

My heart was fluttering as I stood in front of that microphone. I was hit with a small wave of fright as I blurted out a question.

"Wait do you want me to sing too?" I did a terrible job of suppressing the alarm in my voice.

"Just play for now, we can bug you for vocals later," I smiled at Ratliff's words, avoiding the thought that they were ominously true.

I let out a little laugh as Riker, Rydel, Ratliff, Rocky, Ross and Ryland sat themselves down on the ground in front of me. The way they all sat cross-legged and were looking up at me expectantly reminded me of a bunch of elementary school children looking at their teacher.

As I imagined what chords I was going to play my eyes met Riker's. His smile widened before he gave me a playful wink. I couldn't help but start to blush a little. Even if he was just a friend, it wouldn't stop me from feeling slightly embarrassed.

"Here goes I guess," my smile re-appeared as soon as I ran a pick over Rocky's guitar to start my little show. Show sounded like a weird word to describe it with but I'm not quite sure what else to say.

As I stepped up the pace and went into a full on song entry I couldn't help but sway back and forward. General little sways and bounces along to the tune were all I let myself do.

My hands flew over the instrument, each movement effecting the complex music I was making. My left hand was gliding from one position to another on the neck of the guitar whilst my right kept up the pace, strumming at an exact beat and rhythm.

After only a minute or so of playing I slowed the tempo and brought the music to a stop, looking up at R5 and Ryland as I did so. Every one of them sat there silently with a mixture of raised eyebrows, lowered jaws and wide eyes. My mind clicked to what I assumed was a likely reason.

"Was it really _that _bad?" my teeth clamped down as I said the words. Worry filled me as I imagined them all starting to babble and spit out fake compliments nervously or something but I was pleasantly surprised by their actual response.

"What? No way! You said you played, but you didn't say you were pro at it!" Ross shot up from the floor in seconds, disbelief flooding his face.

"Max you're like a female Rocky!" Ratliff yelled as the rest of them began springing up as well.

"Ok I'm _nothing _next to him! Rocky is like..." I searched for the right words. "Like a guitar god!" I laughed at my own words. Rocky seemed to find them incredibly amusing too.

"Don't doubt yourself! You were seriously awesome!" he took a step onto the stage and offered a high five. My mind automatically fangirled.

_Rocky actually complimented my playing! Rocky Lynch the incredible guitarist said I was awesome! _

"It means a heck of a lot coming from you," the words were almost drowned out by the footsteps of everyone racing to stand around me. It was almost overwhelming with the amount of compliments and questions being thrown at me. I noticed Riker was just standing there, shaking his head and smiling in amazement. I smiled back, adding a little innocent shrug like it was nothing.

I maintained my cool, managing not to die of excitement. It had felt so good to play again. When my old guitar had finally died on my I was _incredibly _unhappy. Playing it had always made me happy and now that I had played again I couldn't wait for the next time.

"Can Clara play any instruments?" Rocky piped up again.

My smile receded and my eyebrows dipped at the sides.

Oh god.

***RIKER'S POV****_*_**

"Can Clara play any instruments?" I almost shot Rocky a death glare, even though he had no idea what he'd just done. My eyes darted back to Max who seemed shocked at first but in less than a second her face looked like that of a sad, scared puppy. The look in her eyes made her seem so helpless.

Immediately I decided that I had to do something before the others noticed her. After all, Max had -for whatever reason- trusted me enough to tell me her problems so I felt almost responsible for some part of it.

My feet shuffled backwards, attempting a casual back-step. I purposely stumbled over a small amp and fell in a very ungraceful way onto the floor. Everyone turned towards me, their faces not sure whether to be amused or concerned. I threw my head back and let out a mixture of a laugh and a groan, setting their minds to be amused. They all started laughing and helping me up. Normally I would have joined them but I was too busy trying to check on Max. When I managed to lay my eyes on her she looked fine, simply laughing along with everyone else. I smiled and gave her a subtle nudge once I was standing. Her face changed for less than a second, just long enough to see the thanking expression she was shooting me.

***MAX'S POV***

I barely even stopped laughing. It took no time at all to silently thank Riker. He knew I wasn't exactly acting normal after Rocky's question and had acted on it, probably saving me from an embarrassing explanation towards the others. Even though I knew it had been on purpose, Riker really had managed to make me laugh.

Rocky's question was still fresh in my mind however. Sure Clara had been like a completely different person lately but I still knew how important it would be to her that Rocky was thinking of her. A friendship you've had for your entire life can't just dissapear into thin air so there was no point in denying to myself that Clara meant something to me. She meant a lot.

"Rocky?" he looked over. "Clara started learning acoustic guitar about 2 years ago but her teacher got sick so she stopped after only a few weeks. I offered to start teaching her but she told me not to worry about it and she hasn't played since."

Rocky looked over at me, an interested expression showing on his face.

"Maybe I can get her to start again. Hey you should tell her that Rocky the 'Guitar God' offered her lessons!" I laughed as he added in the name I had given him only minutes ago.

"Sure, I can try," a small smile curled around my lips. As I did so I noticed Riker giving me a worried sideways glance. I kept my eyes on Rocky but snuck in a little thumbs up by my side.

***THE NEXT DAY, RIKER'S POV***

It was the day after I had shown Max our rehearsal room. After spending some time with us at my home she left for lunch and I hadn't seen her since. I woke up in practically the same way as the previous day, the morning sunlight shining into my eyes. The one difference was that my brother Rocky was asleep on his own bed next to me.

"Rocky?" I rolled over so that I was facing him from across the room. The only response I was given was a low moan and rustle of sheets.

"Man wake up!" I laughed, slightly sleepily. This time he did turn to face me, his eyes squinted but still open.

"you know we _can _sleep in every once in a while," he mumbled, frowning slightly.

"Dude what do you think about Clara?" Rocky's brown eyes shot open at my words, suddenly interested. I laughed out loud at his reaction, quite amused.

"In what way?" he was hilariously suspicious and acting like I was trying to hint something to him. I raised my hands in defense, trying my hardest not to laugh.

"I just meant like, she seemed really nice when we met her right?"

"Man don't tell me you're into her too?" Rocky frowned, answering suddenly.

"Too? Well _Rocky_ I'm not into her that way but your words just now suggest-"

"Hey shut up!" he threw his pillow lightly at me. "Besides, I knew it was a stupid question, she's not really your type."

I couldn't help but laugh again. Trust Rocky to decide what is and isn't 'my type'.

"But she is really fun and bubbly I guess, why do you ask?"  
I didn't know if I was supposed to tell Rocky about Max and Clara's fight. It just didn't seem right.

"I just... I guess I expected to see her with Max more often. They just seemed really close you know?" I was proud of my excuse.

"I guess so."

My feet swung themselves over the edge of my bed a few minutes later, finally deciding to get up. Hopefully this day would turn out well.

***MAX'S POV***

I had gotten up later than usual that day, almost as if I were tired from the events of the last day. After taking my time to go downstairs, eat some breakfast and brush my hair I ran back to my room. My laptop was already propped open, the R5 screensaver glowing brightly. I clicked open the minimized internet bar and double checked the directions I had showing.

The previous night I had looked up the closest public pool and bookmarked a map that allowed me to find a route from my new house to there. I was dressed in my proper training swimsuit underneath a light shirt and shorts. The training swimsuit was a one piece and completely light navy except for the initials for my state back in Australia which were in bright blue letters on the front middle. I had once gotten the privilege of competing for the state team of my age group when I was 13 but I hadn't tried out again since and that's why I had the now slightly small uniform. It was a good thing that the material was quite stretchy.

After quickly re-memorizing the route to the pool I grabbed a small backpack and headed towards my front door.

"Mum! Dad! I'm going to the local pool for some training! I'll be back by lunch hopefully!" I called out before opening the door and stepping outside. I didn't need to wait for a reply, they knew I would be fine when swimming was involved.

As I walked down my driveway I noticed a van that was just pulling up next door at the Lynch house. My mind considered going over to say hello but I wasn't sure if I should. When I heard one of the boys shout my name my decision was made.

A short jog was all it took for me to reach the van, leaning down slightly to look through the passenger window.

"Well good morning!" Rydel was smiling at me from where she sat in the front passenger seat. I frowned as I remembered the steering wheel was on the other side in America.

"Morning, where are you guys all going?" I noticed that all of the Lynch siblings were in the van, Ratliff too and Riker at the wheel.

"We were going to go for a muck about down at the local pool in the recreational pool. There's a cool waterslide and some other activities you can do there so it's a nice change from our own pool." Riker leant towards the steering wheel so he could see me from around Rydel. My mouth opened slightly as he continued.

"Rydel was just about to run over and see if you wanted to tag along?"

I started laughing, not even able to answer yet. They were all giving me confused glances and checking each other to see if anyone knew what was going on.

"I was literally just walking down the driveway so I could walk there! I was 'gonna do some training," I finally managed to breath, letting off the slight tension in their car.

"We'll definitely take you there! Get in the back, there's a spare seat next to Ratliff." I was instructed.

Quickly I thanked them all and climbed hurriedly into the back with Ratliff and Rocky, me being on the right side seat.

"You guys do realize that I'll be training for most of the time right?" My mind blurted aloud.

"Fine by us, I'll be happy to watch you for a while. I'd like to see how good you are!" Ratliff nudged me with his elbow.

"Trust me, she's awesome." I poked my tongue out as Riker gave the compliment, not wanting to be fussed over.

Five minutes later we pulled up in the small parking lot for the public pool. The sun shone down onto our faces as we all spilled out of the cramped van and onto the dark cement, which was irritatingly hot. Whoever owned that place sure maintained it well from what I could see, since there wasn't a scrap of rubbish around and every sign and poster was neatly placed.

Rydel and I linked arms as we all marched in an oddly proud manner up to the front gates, quickly paying our small admission fee before running inside.

I stayed at the back of the group, still linked to Rydel as we headed to a small shaded area. We all put down any bags and started stripping off the clothes we wore over our swimsuits. Rydel and I laughed as we compared how the boys only had to take off their shirts and shoes whilst we had to add our shorts to that combination, acting as if it was _so _much more work.

Once we were all ready we grabbed our towels and headed towards the large 50 meter training pool. As I threw my towel down under a tree I noticed that luckily there was only one person -a boy about my age- using that pool. I had it mostly to myself.

"Let's see the master at work!" Ratliff whooped, attracting the attention of a few people who were wondering around the place. I elbowed him lightly and walked towards a diving block close to the center of the pool, closely followed by the Lynch s as well.

"Hey Max?" I turned towards the speaker.

"What does QLD stand for?" Riker pointed to the bright blue writing on my front, his face showing a curious expression.

"That's the short form for my state back in Australia. I was on the state swimming team once for my age so I got this." I acted like it was nothing, since it really didn't seem like such a huge deal.

They all just stood there smiling and occasionally shaking their heads. I took a step up onto the diving block, ready to get into position for a dive.

"Wait wait wait!" a voice called out suddenly. I spun around quickly looking to see if the female voice was Rydel's. She just stood there confused, looking around her for the owner of the vice as well.

"Max," Riker was looking me in the eyes, a worryingly serious expression showing.

I looked up more, searching for the person who apparently Riker had already seen.

Rocky started jumping up and down suddenly, waving his arms in the air.

"Max look! It's Clara! Clara's here too!" he laughed happily.

Crap.

**:3 Well this is new :D I did not expect to be writing that. I do have a lot of ideas and plans for the future of this story but this is interrupting a few! I'm sure I'll get back to them soon though! Ok I need to break some news (haha) I'm going to be on holidays for the next week so I won't be able to upload or write new chapters at all. I'm sorry :'( Anyway I'll try to get one in as soon as I'm home. I'll see you soon! Please review as well! ROCK ON! 3  
**


	11. Chapter 11

**WOW I'm sorry it's been so long since I last updated, I had to get back into a writing mood after I came back from holidays and the story was gone :( As you can see, it'd re-uploaded now but I've lost a lot of followers and favorites. I'll keep on writing though so I hope you enjoy as always!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any people, places, companies or anything else you may recognize in this fanfiction. I do own the storyline and my OC.**

***MAX'S POV***

****Crap.

What the hell was I supposed to do? My eyes darted around aimlessly as Clara continued making her way towards the small group we had formed around the diving block. I couldn't exactly hide since I was standing on the block, elevated and easily visible even if you were a few hundred meters away.

She was getting ominously close by that time, resulting in my heartbeat rising to what was probably a less than healthy pace.

"H-huh?" I mindlessly mumbled when a hand pulled me down from the block gently. Riker was standing next to me, almost protectively it seemed.

"Do you want me to distract them? You can get away then?" His lips barely moved and I could barely hear his message to me.

_Yes definitely! You need to get your butt out of here!_

_And where's that gonna get you hmm? _

_Duh! Away from here!_

_Aren't you ever going to face up to this whole deal? Don't let it end like the last time you really spoke out._

__As soon as those last words joined my little mental argument with myself I snapped into a confident posture. Riker's eyes were still looking intently towards me. My head shook from side to side almost invisibly, but it was still enough to give him the message.

Sliding through the little huddle of smiling and waving members of R5 brought me face to face with the one person I had been dreading seeing.

"Hey," I smiled without showing the tiniest bit of fear. Clara's eyes twitched at my casual greeting but she returned the smile, failing to look in the slightest bit natural. You see, whilst I had been hiding my emotions and all for so long, Clara wasn't as well practiced.

"Can I uh... show you something quickly- in the changing rooms!" I mentally slapped myself at her terrible acting. Everyone except Riker was looking at us strangely, making me feel uncomfortable. It took me less than a second to find an excuse. I really _was _well practiced at covering up things!

"Oh you mean _that_!" I winked at her, acting like I was amused I turned towards the Lynch s. "Clara likes drawing but she barely lets people see her work until it's done. I'll just be back in a second, my critiques eye is needed!" I shot them all a collective smile.

During my little cover up I'd switched my focus between each of them fast enough to hide how I was really feeling. It was only at the last second that I gave Riker a longer glance, just to check what he was doing.

His arms were pinned to his sides as he nodded casually, smiling alongside his sibling and best friend. The main giveaway from him was how his lips were tightly pressed together. I couldn't help but stare at it, I mean I thought it was weird to see his perfect, gorgeous lips straying from their usual adorable smile.

... Ouch. That mental slap almost hurt on the outside! I grabbed Clara's arm and started pulling her in the direction of the changing rooms, turning my head as fast as possible to hide the blush that was creeping onto my face.  
I couldn't believe what I'd just thought! It was insane! Riker was a good friend! I shooed away the thoughts, deciding that I was merely complimenting him as a friend.

The moment we were tucked away inside of the girl's change rooms I released Clara's arm and turned to face her expectantly. My expression was definitely not happy anymore but I still wasn't acting normal. An angry stare replaced my true feelings of worry and dread.

"Clar-" the air was knocked out of me before I could even finish her name. Clara had her arms wrapped around me so tightly I thought I might turn purple.

After a few seconds she backed off, hurriedly pushing a few strands of her straightened blonde hair from her face.

"Max, here." she flipped a bag from around her shoulders before opening it and pulling out a single item. It was a small, A5 sketch book.

I couldn't stop myself from raising an eyebrow. Back when I'd said she was showing me drawings I was only making a cover story. The fact that she actually was... well it was unexpected.

"Just open it." I sat down on one of the few dry benches as the book was pushed into my hands.

Almost reluctantly I obeyed her, flipping the black front cover open.

What I saw then blew my mind. I spent the next few minutes flipping through the pages of the tiny book, each one covered in drawings. I knew it took Clara hours to do a single professional drawing but this book. It was filled! The pages showed so many realistic figures of... us.

Clara and I as little kids and at our current age, during school and any other time imaginable. Each image brought me back to an incredible memory, showing times when I was there for Clara and her for me. I stuttered a slight laugh at one of the last pages.

It showed the words 'I'm sorry for being a total' and then the female sign and a dog.

The very last page only had writing on it.

"Max you're my best friend and I can't even believe what I've done. I'm so so so badly sorry and I will literally beg on my knees for you to forgive me! Can we go back to being crazy R5 loving, singing, musical, insane and perfect best friends?"

A few bangs of my brown hair had fallen onto my face, almost enough to cover the tears forming in my eyes. Almost.

I rocketed up from my seat and wrapped Clara up in a hug.

"I'm sorry," my words were slightly shaky "I should never have gone off at you like that."  
"Oh don't be stupid! You should _not _be the one apologizing! I've been a total freak and if you hadn't yelled at me I would still be like that."

I pulled back, holding her at arms length.

"You know considering that we're both 16 -turning 17 this year- we sure do act immature at times!" my hand wiped any traces of tears from both eyes before looking back at Clara.

"Yeah but more often than not you can act way more mature than our age," I smiled at her comment before quickly hugging her again.

"We'd better get out of here and back to the others," I announced.

"It looks like you've gotten a lot closer to them by the way!" Clara was grinning as we started walking towards the exit.

"I guess so. Now it's just your turn to do the same! Rocky's asked about you a few times as well." her jaw dropped and she started bouncing up and down. Now that was the Clara I knew and loved.

"I can't believe it! Rocky Lynch was thinking about me!"

"Calm down!" I laughed "Soon you'll be obsessing over the air they breath or something!"

"Oh how are you and Riker?" her head whipped to the side to stare at me. The question caught me slightly off guard and my eyebrows almost raised.

"We're good I guess. Pretty good friends I'd say." she just gave me an amused grin before we made it outside.

Our hands were joined playfully as we sprinted back in the direction of R5, laughing like maniacs the whole time.

It was good to have my best friend back.

**:3 Yay. Haha I'm glad to have that tension gone! It's nice for Max and Clara to be on good terms again. I was planning on writing more for when I started this chapter but I think it wouldn't look right to continue from that last sentence. I may start writing the next chapter tonight still but no promises! Anyway if you like my fic then favourite and follow it! Especially REVIEW please! Even if you hate this than let me know! Just tell me whatever you like or don't like about it! I love any feedback I can use! As always, stay perfect and ROCK ON! 3**


	12. Chapter 12

**Hey all! I'm seriously tempted to create a poster telling me to STOP PROCRASTINATING! Seriously I sat myself on my bed at 1pm today and told myself to write this chapter once I finished checking social networks and doing a small amount of youtubing. As I begin to write this it's 11pm. ._." Good job me. ANYWAY I wanted to quickly thank the authors R5inmysoul, rossxlaura01 and URxGORGEx for continuing to be so awesome and supporting! Check out their stories if you get the time, they're really enjoyable to read and I love em! Well time to begin! Hope you approve! XD**

**Disclaimer: I do not own and people, places, companies or anything else you may recognize in this fanfiction. I do own the storyline and my OC.**

***RIKER'S POV***

It didn't take a genius to see that Max and Clara were back to normal.

Both girls' smiles were definitely contagious considering that by the time the skipping duo reached where we were standing, everyone looked like a five year old on Christmas!

"So how did your _critique's eye _go in there?" Ross touched his chin as if thoughtfully stroking a beard. Max and Clara exchanged a quick but meaningful glance. I was pretty sure that Nobody else really payed attention to it but both girls gazes seemed to soften on contact. Whatever happened in that changing room, I knew it was good.

"Clara's drawing style is always impressive but those latest pieces of work seemed to have just a tad bit more meaning to them." Max widened her grin, creating little grooves in her lightly freckled face.

"Well I still want to see you swimming!" Rydel begged almost, showing a pair of puppy eyes I'd seen so many times before.

***MAX'S POV***

"Well I still want to see you swimming!" I was slightly shocked that they really wanted to. In my mind, it wasn't a big deal, I mean, it's just swimming right?

"Whatever you say," I laughed, not bothering to speak my thoughts.

I shuffled along the concrete, changing my footing rapidly because of the heat it had soaked up from the sun. Clara must have ditched her bag and outer clothes because she was standing behind me with all of the Lynch s and Ratliff in only her swimmers.

I hopped up onto the same diving block I had left behind earlier, this time determined to actually enter the water when I suddenly had a rather awkward thought.  
I turned to face my little group of spectators, frowning.

"Don't stand behind me." I received a few puzzled looks. Clara moved so that she was standing beside the block, laughing knowingly.

"I don't want to bend down for my dive and have my butt sticking in your faces!" by the end of my sentence I was laughing so hard that my hands clutched my sides.

Everyone joined Clara at the sides of the block, laughing at me as they did so.

Once I was satisfied I turned to face the clear water. 50 meters of clear, smooth water reflected sunlight into my face, practically begging me to dive in.

"I don't know what amuses you all so much about watching me, but whatever," I laughed, wanting to be in the water more than anything else.

Not waiting for a response I quickly positioned my feet so that they supported me well and bent back with my hands touching the edge of the block. My arched back and bend knees snapped up, throwing myself into the air like a spring. As I did so my arms flew gracefully -if I do say so myself- in front of me, creating an aim and a slip stream for when I entered the water.

Trust me when I tell you this, the moment I was underwater I couldn't have been happier. I was good friends with the best people I had ever met and Clara was back to being my best friend. There wasn't a single worry on my mind.

I glided under the water like a torpedo, only changing my formation to kick my legs in a single movement, propel myself with my arms and bring them back in front of me. The sensation of reaching the surface always made my skin tingle. Being half under and above water made it feel even cooler.

My legs turned into engine powered propellers, powerfully kicking in an exact rhythm. My arms began to bring themselves one at a time under my body and over my head, fitting themselves into a similar rhythm to my legs.

My eyesight consisted of the hazy black guide line on the pool bottom, set to keep swimmers on course. Being human, my underwater vision was never the best so I was always thankful for that line while swimming. After a few more seconds of watching the line move along underneath me I flashed my head to the side, filling my lungs with air.

I managed to glimpse and amusing sight on the side of the pool as I did so. Although I was in the lane right in the center of the large pool I could still clearly see _all _of them. Ratliff, Rydel, Rocky, Ross, Ryland, Clara and of course Riker were all running at the edge of the pool, cheering and smiling as they raced me.

This sight only made me go faster. No way was I going to let them beat me! The moment I turned my head back down I worked much harder, pushing my muscles to go faster and only turning my head for a breath when I badly needed one in order to remain as streamlined as possible.

My eyes tracked the thick guide line for the entire length until it finally came to a T-junction, letting me know that the edge of the pool was close. I flicked my arms in front of me, preparing for palms to meet wall. One final flick of feet brought my fingertips into contact with tiles. My hands swiftly flattened out so that I was in the professional finishing position (two hands on the wall in unison).

Definitely not my best lap ever, but it was alright I guess. I hadn't bothered to warm up or stretch, with the exception of a few rolls of my shoulders.

"MAX OH MY GOD!" my hands flew to my ears as soon as I brought my head from the water. Smiling as water droplets ran down my barely flustered face.

***CLARA'S POV* **

****I had almost forgotten how good she was. It had been a while since I'd seen Max swimming. Too long in my opinion.

I watched happily as a smile plastered itself to everyone's faces. Max dove into that pool like she was a butcher knife cutting into butter! The Lynch s and Ratliff were definitely surprised by her expertise since they hadn't seen her like this before. Riker however didn't look quite at shocked as the others. It seemed like he'd watched Max swimming professionally before. Now _that _was amusing.

A pair of large hands brought me out of my thoughts by planting themselves on my shoulders. I turned slightly to see who they belonged to only to be rewarded by a face full of brown hair. My original thought was 'What the hell I'm not a brunette!' but then my mind clicked into normality. Only one person here had brown hair that was moderately long. For a guy at least.

"Rocky?" He didn't even hear me say his name. Heck, I barely heard me over everyone's yelling and cheering! I turned back to watching Max, surveying her every move because I knew full well that she wold want me to point of flaws so she could fix them.

"Let's race her!" Ryland began running along the concrete alongside the pool, his hair flopping around with each stride. All of us just laughed and took his lead. I pulled away -reluctantly- from Rocky's hands so that I could race down with everybody else.

"MAX OH MY GOD!" Rydel squealed, jumping up and down. We had barely made it the the opposite side of the pool before my best friend tagged the wall. Considering that she was swimming and we were running, it was pretty damn impressive! Even though I'd seen her perform much better.

"It was good but your entry at the start felt delayed. You looked distracted and had to use your first few stroked to warm up. Also your first breath wasn't fast enough," I knelt at the poolside in front of Max.

"Clara what are you on about? That was freaking awesome!" Ratliff -and everyone else for that matter- was staring at me in disbelief. Max however just nodded, holding herself on the side of the pool while going over her technique in her head.

"Seriously, if you thought _that _was impressive you should see her during a competition!" I laughed. I wouldn't be able to count the days I'd spent watching Max swim and helping out by pointing out any flaws for her to improve on.

***MAX'S POV***

****Clara was right. Although my lap had been incredibly enjoyable it had also been kinda sloppy. Next time I would do better.

"Thanks!" I smiled as I gently kicked my legs beneath me.

Just as I was about to pull myself out of the water when I felt both of my hands being pulled from where they held me on the pool's edge. Looking up in a hurry brought my eyes to an unexpected sight.  
Riker was looking down at me, offering to pull me out.

_His hands are really warm. _I thought. Suddenly I felt a heck of a lot more flustered. What the hell was that supposed to mean? His hands felt warm!? What the heck?

As confused as I was at the time my mind managed to get at least one thing straight. I wasn't going to get flustered and embarrassed in front of everyone.

Since Riker's hands were in mine I did the first thing I could think of. I pulled him into the pool.

In a flash I tugged back strongly, causing him to loose balance. I was so close to the wall that I wasn't in the collision zone but I still ducked as he went flying face first over my head.

Everyone including myself were in fits of laughter by the time Riker surfaced, sporting an even more hilarious hair style. strands of his bleached blonde hair had going in every direction, clearing his forehead. It was strange to see the top of his face since it was usually covered by his fringe.

"It's nice to know how well you accept gentlemanly offers," he laughed, splashing a bit of water at me. I merely poked my tongue out as I pulled myself onto the edge of the pool. Riker soon followed and we were eventually standing with everyone else.

"So what do you guys wanna do?" Clara questioned. I couldn't help but smile at how close Rocky was standing to her, practically glued.

"To the recreational pool? There's water slides and other cool stuff there so 'whatcha say?" Ross smiled.

**Well well well. Max seems a bit confused! Anyway with the next chapter I hope to get it done ASAP! Not straight away though haha. Anyway I hope you thought that was alright! I plan on the next chap still being at the pools so look out for that! REVIEW and tell me what you think! And of course as always; ROCK ON! 3  
**


	13. Chapter 13

**Hey guys! Who's loving LOUD? I know I am XD Anyway, sorry for not updating in a while, I've just finished my holidays so I'm slightly busier than before. By the way I wanted to say sorry for my last chapter. After reading over it I noticed so many spelling and grammar errors it makes me cringe! I try to edit everything before I post it but I mustn't have done a good job ._." Well, hopefully this one is better! ENJOY!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any people, places, companies or anything else you may recognize in this fanfiction. I do own the storyline and my OC.**

***MAX'S POV***

The moment we reached the recreational pool all hell broke loose. Riker, Rydel, Ratliff, Rocky, Ross, Ryland and Clara all ran up and dive bombed into the water like a group who had recently escaped a lunatic asylum.  
Needless to say this earnt us all disapproving frowns from the 'lifeguards' on duty.

I, of course, was the odd one out. I didn't join in the insane entry, instead I simply plotted a less slippery path to the edge and slid my legs into the coolness. As enticing as the water seemed as it reflected sunlight onto my face in sweet, summery patterns I didn't get in.

It was relaxing to just sit there, leaning back on the pools edge and lightly swinging my legs where the water covered them up to my knees.

It bothered me slightly that I was soaking up the sun so much though. Ok I know what you're thinking;

_Um don't you want a tan?_

Yes. I would love a tan, believe me. It's always been weird being that pale Australian girl but tanning isn't exactly my specialty. I can sit in the sun for ages and all I'll be rewarded with is a painful red burn for the next week or so before I turn back into Edward Cullen. Ok I'm not really _that _pale but its a metaphor, get used to it.

My worries of turning into a temporary tomato faded quickly and my lips curled up into a tiny smirk. I felt a shadow cover my skin, cooling it down. A few moments later a small shower of water droplets started falling onto me, slipping off and rolling down my sides.

"Rain?!" I spluttered out suddenly.

At the same time I automatically snapped my eyes open in shock.

"Max are you alright?" Immediately I groaned, squeezing my eyes shut tight again.

"I thought it was raining." Reluctantly I re-opened my deep brown eyes to look back above me where Riker was leaning down, casting a shadow and letting water drip off of his body and onto mine.

He gave me a mixed smirk-frown.

"Why did you look so alarmed if you just thought it was raining?"

I stuttered out a few weird, strangled noises right as Ross came roaring up behind us.

"GET IN HERE! WE'RE PLAYING MARCO POLO!" he grabbed onto our arms, firmly but not harshly. A tiny inspection showed me that his grip was a lot lighter on me then on Riker. People thought I would break if they touched me, as usual.

I swallowed a sigh and forced a smile onto my lips just as we approached everyone else.

"Since Max is our local dolphin, I vote for her to be up!" Ratliff shouted as he started backing off, setting an example for apparently everyone else.

Clara grabbed onto my shoulders before commanding me to shut my eyes and spinning me around until I had no clue which way I was facing.

"In five seconds you can start!" Clara yelped as she frantically and noisily waded away from me.

I counted in my head before awkwardly yelling out 'Marco'.

A chorus of replies filled my ears. Thankfully the idiots hand bunched up so I didn't have a hard time deciding which way to swim to.

I kept my eyes shut, as the rules enforce, and I made a quick break towards the sound of their voices. Within milliseconds of my first movement I could hear everyone scrambling in different directions, scattering like ants to avoid a shoe.

"Marco!"

"Pol- aglffmmf!" My hand shot towards the closest reply, cutting it off halfway through. I opened my eyes to see that I had my hand over Rocky's mouth. It didn't stay there for long.

"S-Sorry! Wait did I just punch you in the face!? I am _SO _sorry!" Riker huffed a laugh behind me and Rocky was shaking his head and trying to calm me down.

"Seriously Max, you didn't punch me or anything!" he laughed. Relieved, I sighed and let myself fall back into the water with a splash.

In the small amount of time that I was peacefully underwater I managed to see two large hands reaching towards me through the blur.

Riker reached around my waist and dragged my body through the water like a rag doll. Literally he just yanked me backwards.

To put it simply, I was shocked. I had always been the short, skinny kid who people were afraid to treat normally. Only Clara treated me roughly, like a normal person. The fact that Riker wasn't afraid to muck around with me was definitely a shock to my system... but it also brought up a rush of happiness.

The moment he let me out into the air to freaking breath a giant smile erupted on my face. He gave me a quick quizzical glance before pulling me back even further, this time my face was out of the water though.

"Run crazy! I didn't drag you away from Rocky only for you to be caught two seconds later!" I laughed at his logic before ripping through the water towards where Rydel and Ryland were trying to hide in a corner.

"Marco!" I watched Rocky flailing his arms about in the water, searching for someone to catch. The whole scene was rather hilarious actually. Everyone splashing about and trying to hide at the opposite end of the pool to where Rocky was while he paddled without sight, occasionally apologizing to random strangers he bumped into.

After watching him for a short while I noticed something intriguing.

"Are you seeing what I'm seeing?" Riker startled me as he calmly approached my back.

"If it's Rocky only following Clara's voice, then yes." I smirked, ignoring the fright I had just gotten and calmly replying.

I could practically sense Riker smirking alongside me and I was about to properly acknowledge his nod when I saw something far more important. Straight away my eyes widened and eyebrows shot up into space.

Rocky had been chasing Clara's voice for a while and when he finally heard her reply to his call close enough to reach for he took the chance. Both of his hands stretched out to where Clara was standing directly in front of him in one quick movement. He had her in his grasp... in more ways than one.

My hand shot up to cover the giant grin sneaking onto my face as Rocky opened his eyes.

If I could replay moments of my life over and over I would have done it right there. The look on Rocky's face when he saw that both of his hands were firmly placed on Clara's chest was just utterly priceless.

Remember how I said I go really red when I'm sunburnt. Well Rocky's face had beaten my record ten times over.

Clara's was just as incredible. I could just imagine her current gibberish thoughts;

_HOLY GBHGVCDFGHJNGVSEDCFVGHBJNKDF GHJ!_

I hadn't even noticed that I was laughing until Riker lent his head on my small shoulders, shaking with amusement just as much as me.

Rocky pulled his hands back finally, recovering from his minor shock enough to move.

***CLARA'S POV***

OH. MY. GOD.

ROCKY LYNCH JUST GRABBED MY BOOBS!

Sure it was on accident but I'm pretty sure you'll agree that this was something for me to have a minor emotional explosion about.

"Uh, C-Clara?" Rocky finally spoke.

"It's ok. Not your fault." I stammered just as much as he did, responding so fast I surprised myself.

For some unknown reason I went to hug him. At first he had this look on his face that looked almost as shocked as Abby when I told her that I didn't want to hang out with her anymore (minus the raging anger she had in addition).

Soon -thank god- Rocky hugged back, allowing me to relax.

GOD IT WAS GREAT TO HUG HIM! I seriously hoped my hair looked ok to though.

***RIKER'S POV***

Well that was unexpected.

Once Rocky and Clara had hugged it out I managed to stop laughing. Apparently Max had too.

"You literally have tears rolling down your cheek!" I laughed.

Without thinking I reached out and cupped a hand around her chin before smoothly wiping the water from her cheeks.

***MAX'S POV***

****Ok so maybe I had a minor heart attack when Riker touched my face, so what? He didn't look even the slightest bit bothered about his actions which seemed to calm me.

_His hands are still warm._I thought to myself.

I brushed aside the thought. There was nothing wrong with saying your friend's hands were warm right? Riker was my friend. A good, close friend...

"You've got the exact same thing." I smirked, kicking into confident Max mode. Riker -for once- didn't notice. He instead wiped his hands across his face before turning back to face Clara and Rocky.

I followed his lead, watching as both of them blush furiously as they stood beside each other. It didn't take a hawk's vision to notice them stealing glance at each other every few seconds.

I had to admit, they were adorable together. Clara's perfectly blonde hair swinging down her back like a curtain as it dripped water back into the pool beside Rocky's long brown mane which was currently swept back in a wet wave.

Riker moved closer beside me, leaning over so our shoulders were pressing against each other. I looked over at him, raising a single eyebrow in a calm but questioning way. He merely burst into a grin before whispering to me.

"Well those two aren't going to be just friends for very long,"

"I'm glad. My best friend can finally get what she's wished and dreamed of for so long." My face softened and only a light, sweet smile was left on my lips.

"What have you wished for? What would make you happy?"

***RIKER'S POV***

****I turned my face to look at her half way through my question.

"As long as the people important to me are happy, I don't need anything." She didn't turn to face me. Didn't even change a bit.

"Anything?" I pushed.  
"Anything." She finalized.

"Hey let's go on the water slides!" Rydel squealed from somewhere close by. Max turned to face my sister, finally snapping out of her little happy daze.

It amazed me that one person could have so little consideration for them self. Max rarely shared her true feelings, especially not her problems and now she was telling me that all she wanted was for the people she cared about to be happy? How selfless was this girl?

"You guys go ahead, I'm 'gonna go and do some more laps," she waved at Rydel.

"No! You _have _to come Ma-ax!" I huffed, amused at the way she strung out Max's name.

"But I came here for some practice!" she pouted slightly. It was kind of adorable.

_Wait what? _I frowned at my thoughts. _Never mind._

__"You don't have a choice!" Ratliff came up beside her and grabbed onto her wrist. As he started pulling his head whipped back in my direction.

"Actually Riker, you carry her." I waltzed through the water and scooped the thin girl up over my shoulder.

We all slowly made our way towards the stairs for the two water slides. Max stopped struggling after a few seconds, remembering that it was useless to fight against me. When she let herself swing limply over my shoulder I couldn't help myself. I let out an overly stereotyped, fake and loud evil laugh before we started ascending. Max only responded by flicking me lightly on my lower back.

***Later, MAX'S POV***

****I smiled fondly as we skipped away from the local pool, Clara and Rydel linking arms on either side of me. The sky was a beautiful mixture between pink, yellow and orange as the sun was dipping over the horizon. Our shadows cast darkness onto the dark bitumen of the car park as we strode towards the Lynch's familiar van.

Once we were standing at the van I looked back towards the gates where Ross was hugging a little girl who had recognized him from Austin and Ally. The girl's mum snapped a quick phone picture of the two of them before Ross waved goodbye and ran over to us.

"Cute," I giggled.

Suddenly Ryland spoke up from where he was leaning on a door.

"We aren't going to fit everyone. There aren't enough seats for us now that we've got another person with us," he nodded awkwardly at Clara. There was a simple solution to this problem in my opinion, so I voiced it.

"I'll walk home. It's not that far away." Well done Max. You really couldn't have put it any blunter, could you?

"What? You can't walk home by yourself when it's getting dark! A girl your age could get kidnapped or something! One of us should go instead!"

I rolled my eyes at Ratliff.

"Oh and a member of the famous band walking on the streets of Los Angeles by themselves is going to end _perfectly_!" I dripped sarcasm.

"I'll go with her." Clara gave me a playful shoulder barge.

"Are you two absolutely sure about this?" Rydel frowned, obviously feeling bad.

"Positive." I nodded without hesitation.

"Well... be careful I guess," Ratliff shrugged worriedly.

The Lynch s and Ratliff took turns hugging both of us but two hugs stood out more. When Riker pulled me into his arms I felt incredibly warm and safe.

_Must be a thing about hugging friends._

__"Let us know when you get home so we know you're both alright." He mumbled to me before letting me go. I nodded, not thinking too much about it.

"Look both ways before crossing the road!" Rocky laughed as he hugged Clara. Tightly.

I watched them alongside everyone else, letting out an amused sigh.

Before letting her go Rocky snuck in a quick peck on the cheek.

"Get a room!" Ross yelled at the top of his highly trained voice. I merely laughed and pulled Clara off towards the road, leaving R5 and Ryland to get into their van and head for home.

As I looked over to Clara she was in a daze. A giddy, love-struck gaze.

"Pull yourself together woman!" I shook her shoulders to bring her to planet Earth.

We walked silently for a while. It wasn't awkward, just a comfortable silence. I was incredibly happy with how the day was turning out. I had spent most of it having an awesome time with R5 and I had regained my best friend, who had also gotten 'romantically involved' with Rocky Lynch.

A rather interesting day if I do say so myself.

The streets we walked through were lit by bright streetlights, occasionally darkened by one with a faulty connection. Cars whizzed by us, freaking me out when I forgot that Americans drive on the opposite side of the road. Shops and restaurants lined the building we passed in a more uptown area, flashing with neon signs and colourful advertisements.

After looking in awe at our surroundings I finally forced my eyes to look back at my best friend. Clara seemed to have finally calmed down from her emotional overload.

"We have to cross a busy street up here before we can get to the more rural area that we live in." I instructed. Max the leader! ... Sorry.

"I'll lead the way then!" Clara jogged so that she was in front of me. Well there went my joke.

We waited for a minute or so for the flashing green man to appear on the traffic lights across the road before beginning to walk across.

***CLARA'S POV***

****I felt the need to improve my posture and confident aura as we crossed the street. There were quite a few cars stopped at the lights and waiting for Max and I to cross.

I had just made it across when I heard a car backfiring close to me. The sound was so loud it sounded like we were in the middle of a thunder storm.

_Oh God!_

__I turned back to face the street so fast that my head spun. Max had heard a sound like a thunder storm. I knew this was bad!

As I looked back I confirmed my fears.

Max was standing, frozen in the middle of the street, a terrified expression on her face.

"MAX MOVE THE CARS ARE COMING!" I screamed frantically. It was no use. I may as well have been speaking in German.

***MAX'S POV* **

****"Th-thunder... lightning." I whimpered out almost silently. My muscles locked up the moment I heard the sound.

It took me a few seconds to move again. Frantically I regained the ability to use my brain cells and turned to see any danger I was in.

Confusingly there was no lightning to be seen but there was another form of light.

Two blindingly bright headlights speeding towards me, and they were already right in my face.

**End of chapter.**

**MWAHAHAHAHAAAAA! :D Hopefully that's a bit of a cliff hanger for you :) Well I'm sorry again that this took so long to get up! I'm not really pleased with this chapter but meh, hopefully I can improve on the next one. PLEASE review and tell me anything! Hate if that's how you feel! I want to know anything you think! Well, ROCK ON! 3  
**


	14. Chapter 14

**Well... :D I don't feel the need to hold you from the story itself, so I'm going to get straight to it! Hopefully ENJOY!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any people, places, companies or anything else you may recognize in this fanfiction. I do own the storyline and my OC.**

* * *

***MAX'S POV***

****"MAX!" A scream was barely audible over the deafening blares of a car horn.

It was nothing like a movie. Things didn't happen in slow motion, in fact it was so fast I could hardly remember my surroundings.

My eyes should have naturally closed with the bright headlights searing them but this wasn't the case. They widened the instant they fell on the ever closer bulbs.

Did my life flash before my eyes? No.

Did I have a philosophical 'last thought'? No.

Did I scream out to tell someone that I loved them? No.

No, no, no. Those were things that someone special would have said. I'm nobody special, that's for sure.

Being human, you'd think that I would have used my fight or flight instinct, obviously choosing flight since you'd have to be insane to face off a speeding vehicle -but NO! Maxine Locknel stood frozen like a deer in the headlights...

A Max in the headlights?

Just as it seemed like I would become a squished mess that some poor council worker would have to scrape off of the pavement the next morning I felt a pressure on my left arm.

Something yanked on that arm so hard it wouldn't have surprised me if it popped out if the socket. My vision was a blurry mess of what I thought was flashing lights, the night sky and my own hair as I was pulled at an incredible speed to the side.

It looked like I could get out, like I could make it away unscathed.

Until everything suddenly went away with a loud, sickening _thud_.

***CLARA'S POV***

She was standing there. Just standing there!

"MAX!" I screamed, racing out towards her.

The truck showed no signs of slowing down. It didn't even look like the idiot would swerve out of the way! My feet smashed onto the street with such force that it sent shots of pain up my legs in time to every step.

The moment I thought I could grab hold of her I did.

My hand seemed to grip onto Max's arm for grim death but I knew that my tight hold wouldn't hurt nearly as much as smashing into a bumper bar. It took a lot of force to yank my best friend towards me fast enough.

I couldn't see straight with all of the lights and movement flashing in front of my eyes but I knew the general direction back to the pavement, so that's were I pulled towards.

Just when I thought that I'd gotten there in time to save Max without a scratch my ears picked up an awful thud.

Max suddenly became a heck of a lot harder to pull but I managed, literally dragging her onto the sidewalk.

The second my vision cleared I moved Max into a safer position against the wall of a closed shopfront.

You didn't have to be Steven Hawking to know that she was unconscious. The tell-tale signs were definitely her closed eyes and limp body alongside the light trail of blood running down the side of her forehead. A further inspection showed that she wasn't any paler than usual and the only other visible injury was on her hand. My now slightly mussed blonde hair swung over my shoulders as I leant in.

The side of the truck had hit her right palm pretty hard, leaving behind a highly obvious and red mark which was slightly swelling. I could tell that it was going to bruise pretty badly in no time.

I was about to yell out for help when a small grunt stopped me in my tracks.

***MAX'S POV***

****Talk about freakish.

I grunted the moment I knew what was going on before sitting up in a rather dejected position. The movement allowed me to notice the less than pleasant amount of pain coming from my head and my hand.

"Well this is just brilliant," I huffed before blinking my eyes open.

"Max! Max can you remember what happened?" Clara was staring into my eyes with those pretty colourful ones I had always envied.

"Got a pretty good idea. I wasn't out for very long, was I?"

"No but I'm so sorry I couldn't pull you out of the way fast enough!" My best friend looked more traumatized then me!

Se pulled me into a gentle hug, making sure not to crush me.

"I'm sorry..." Her hair got in the way of my mumbling. Clara immediately pulled away and held onto my shoulders tightly.

"What are you talking about?" I didn't pay much attention to her question, since I already knew she was going to ask it.

"I stopped. I just stopped right in the middle of the road. I'm sorry." Brown eyes left hers. "That car backfiring sounded like-"  
"I know." Clara cut me off and hugged me again. "I know what you thought it was. This isn't your fault at all ok so don't apologize."

I merely sighted before pushing her away gently.

"We need to get home. It's already late and I don't want to hang around here." Clara just nodded and helped me up. Her eyes showed me straight away that she wanted to say something else but I beat her to it, knowing exactly what it was.

"No I don't want to go to a hospital. I can take care of myself. I promise if I was knocked out for any longer I would but this isn't that serious, I just 'wanna go back home."

Thank god she was my best friend. Anyone else would have argued or tried to force me into going but Clara knew not to bother when I was in this mode.

"Just promise me that if you don't start to get better you'll get help." I just looked at her and smiled, needing nothing more then a nod in reply.

* * *

Twenty minutes later we were standing in front of my house, face to face. The rest of the walk back had been in a comfortable silence.

I was about to hug Clara and go inside when I suddenly had a thought.

"Clara?" She nodded. "Please don't tell anyone about this, alright?"

"... Ok. Fine I won't." I could practically smell the hesitation in her voice.

"Look I'll be fine. See you tomorrow? Hopefully that Abby girl won't bug us during school." I smirked.

Clara laughed a little before pulling something from the bag that was still slung over her back from going to the pool. Her hands reached towards my face, now holding a small cloth. She gently moved a few strands of hair behind my ear before wiping away all of the now partially dried blood. Once she was satisfied enough she played around with my hair a little, shaping it with her hands so that it completely hid the spot where My forehead had contacted the truck.

"Thanks," I smiled before pulling her into a one handed hug. Let's just say that my right hand wasn't up for any pressure on it with the large amount of bruising.

I pulled away and gave her one last smile before she began striding down the street and towards her house, blonde hair swaying in her wake.

I waited until I couldn't see her anymore before turning the handle on my door and walking inside.

The hallways definitely looked a lot nicer now compared to when we had first arrived at the house. Each wall had some nice framed photos of our family and pictures my dad had taken.

"Sorry I'm late! I was with Clara!" I yelled out to nobody in particular.

"It's alright honey, just don't make a habit of it on school nights!" I held back a laugh at my mum's reply. "Oh and dinner's about to be ready so come here whenever you're ready!"

I hesitated before answering.

"I'm fine thanks, I had dinner with Clara." I wasn't proud of lying to my mother but I really didn't feel like eating anything just yet.

"Alright then!"

Her answer satisfied me enough so I headed towards the stairs. I bounded up them in record time, taking two or three steps at a time for no apparent reason before entering my room at the end of the upstairs hallway and locking my door.

It felt so _freaking _good to relax. But I knew I couldn't for too long. I still had to  
clean myself up properly.

My bathroom was soon set up like a mini medical response cavern. Once I was pleased with the arrangement I set to work. First and foremost I had to deal with my head. As I had thought, it wasn't nearly as bad as it could have been. Clara had definitely saved my bacon back on that street.

Since my best friend had already cleaned it up all I was left to do was add some antiseptic and put a small strip of medical tape over it to make sure the cut stayed closed. Luckily it hadn't swollen enough to be noticed unless you were really staring at it.

Next was my hand. I turned over my right palm to inspect the damage.

To say it was worse than I'd expected was an understatement. There was no doubt in my mind that my hand was pretty damn badly bruised. I stared down at the awful mark that covered the inside of my palm. A mixture of purple, black, blue and even a bit of yellow showed me that I definitely had hit the truck hard on that spot.

All I could really do for that was to wrap around it in a bandage. Since the skin wasn't broken the only task I had was to hide it from others, so the bandage did the trick perfectly.

Satisfied with my work I packed all of the first aid equipment into a draw and trotted back into my room. The lightly coloured walls helped to make me feel cooler and more relaxed than before, which I was grateful for.

My feet lead me automatically towards my computer chair, acting on habit. I had unknowingly thrown my backpack from the day onto said chair the moment I entered my room. I quietly unzipped it and slipped out a small item.

The sketch pad Clara had given me.

As I sat down to look through it again I couldn't help but think that it was the best apology I had ever gotten. Then again, I hadn't gotten that many.

After I had flicked through the pages around ten times each my body decided to suddenly be tired as hell. Some miracle allowed me to drag myself out of the chair, muttering some colourful words as my bruised hand hit the desk. I was about to just climb onto my bunk bed and collapse when some awfully chipper musical notes rung out.

Let me put it this way. Imagine I was a rabbit and I had just been chasing a carrot that someone was dangling in front of me throughout a tiring and painful obstacle course for the last hour. Now said carrot is sitting still, _right _in front of my little twitchy nose. Just as I go to bite it the person holding the carrot takes it away, forcing me to go over another obstacle before I can finally get to it. That's how I felt, but the carrot was sleep, and I wasn't a small furry creature. Get my point? No? Ok.

Well, rabbits aside, I reached towards the source of the irritating tones -my phone- and pulled it into my view.

_One new message. From: Unknown Number._

__I huffed quietly and wondered who the heck was messaging me. My fingers tapped at the touch screen, unlocking it and opening my messages bar. A thumb pressed lightly on the sidebar labelled 'inbox' so I could view the text.

_Hey are you home yet? I wanted to make sure you and Clara were alright._

_-Riker_

* * *

**Well. I'm tired as heck. I hope that was alright. I'm not sure I'm happy with it. Anyway I'M PROBABLY GOING TO AMERICA IN SEPTEMBER! Haha I would be going with a school trip but it's still going to be incredible! I would be closer to R5 then I'll ever get until they have an international tour! Well, now that I've fangirled etc etc I wanted to say as usual PLEASE REVIEW! I love to hear anything you wanna say. Also It would mean a lot if you checked out the authors R5inmysoul and URxGORGEx they're both awesome people and they have great R5 fanfics! Of course, I can't leave you without saying it; ROCK ON! 3**


	15. Chapter 15

**HIYA! Sorry I haven't updated in a little while! School's still frustrating me and I'm just getting into the hang of the new year. Well, you won't be here to read about my education so I officially give you; THE NEXT CHAPTER! Haha, ENJOY!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any people, places, companies or anything else you may recognize in this fanfiction. I do own the storyline and my OC.**

* * *

***MAX'S POV***

****Lazily I added Riker's number into my contacts, setting his avatar as a little cartoon penguin picture I had saved somewhere in my phone.

My fingers could barely be bothered to type him a reply but I knew if I ignored it the whole ordeal would just bite me in the butt later.

_Max: We're fine._

_Riker: But are you home yet?_

__I smirked at his reply, seeing as it was sent so soon after my own.

_Max: Yes, we're both home and nobody murdered, raped or mugged us. Calm your farm._

_Riker: Haha good. Anything exciting happen on the way?_

__I sighed, still feeling kind of dull. Nevertheless I sent him another reply.

_Max: Nope. Some flashy lights but that's all._

__Most people would have felt bad about lying but not me. I was so used to covering up things that had happened to me that any guilt I ever received was automatically shoved into some vault in the back of my mind and locked up.

"Oi Ryland asked if we 'wanna go over to their place for a while?" My younger brother Andrew burst into my room.

"Hey didn't I lock my door?" I frowned.

"No. Now are you coming? I need to reply to Ry." He motioned to the phone I hadn't realized he was holding before shooting me an impatient look.

"Yeah whatever, just give me a few minutes."

Andrew put the phone up to his ear, continuing his conversation.

"Maxine said she'll come," I shot him a fierce glare right as he slammed my door shut.

"Don't call me that!"

I huffed out grumpily before forcing myself out of the computer chair.

My phone buzzed slightly and attracted my sorry attention.

_Riker: Ryland tells me you're coming over! See you soon then!_

__Hustling up some strength I walked -less like a zombie than expected- towards my drawers. I had still been wearing my swim suit underneath the clothes I had worn that day so I thought it proper to change.

Three minutes and mindless choosing of an outfit later I was wearing black skinny jeans, a loose orange hoodie and my black vans.

Well, they looked like Vans shoes but in reality they were a cheap knock off. I smirked down at them before shoving my phone in my pocket.

I was about to walk out into the hallway when I realized how obvious the bandage on my hand was. In a quick attempt to cover it up I grabbed my pair of black fingerless gloves and slipped them over both hands. It was indescribably uncomfortable to have over my bandaged hand but I could deal with it.

"Hurry up Maxine!" I grimaced at Andrews call.

"Shut up and learn some patience Andrea!"

"Hey that's not fair!" I smirked before shoving one hand into my hoodie pocket and making my way downstairs.

"Mum! Andrew and I are going next door for a little while!" I poked my head into the TV room where both of my parents were watching some documentary on what looked like one of the World Wars. Cheerful.

"Fine but don't be late, you both have school tomorrow! Behave!" I waved my hand dismissively at her before backtracking to the bottom of the stairs where my brother was sauntering back and forth.

I noticed that his brown hair had gained blonde sun streaks similar to my own.

"Took your sweet time," He interrupted my thoughts and lead me to our front door.

"There's nothing _sweet _about me. I'm just some weird girl." I muttered unconsciously. Andrew immediately shot me a concerned look as he stood stock still in my way.

"I was kidding! Hurry up or Ryland will think you've ditched him." Confident Max put on an amused face, automatically taking over.

Andrew brightened at the mention of his new best friend which gave me the perfect opportunity to playfully push him down the driveway and towards the Lynch residence. I liked being Confident Max. It was nice to appear careless and positive.

"It's the Aussies!" Mark smiled from R5's doorstep. I grinned at the way he attempted to copy our accent -emphasis on _attempted_- and opened their door wider to let my brother and I inside.

The house was oddly quiet which was a bit concerning since each time I had visited it in the past I returned with ringing ears. I was about to ask why when Ryland rounded a corner and met up with us. Mark gave us siblings a quick wave before walking off to somewhere or another in the house.

"It's so quiet!" Andrew whisper-shouted beside me, earning a chuckle from Ryland.

"Rydel's re-organizing her closet, my mom and dad have been reading in their room and as far as I know Rocky, Riker and Ross are playing video games in the older two's bedroom." He informed us before dragging Andrew in a direction that I presumed was leading them to his room.

This left me standing alone by the Lynch's front door, feeling more than a little confused. What the heck was I supposed to do? I didn't want to get in the way or Rydel's re-organizing and I presumed that they boys wouldn't want a girl crashing their little video gaming session, even though I played myself.

I nervously ran my good hand through my hair while pulling a face that basically said _Well this is awkward._

__"Oh hey you're here!" A familiar voice lead my eyes just slightly to the left of where I had been staring. I quickly focused on the blonde guy walking towards me while displaying a killer smile.

"Boy am I glad you're here," I let out the breath I hadn't realized I was holding. Riker simply laughed and stepped closer to me, wrapping his arms around me in a nice hug. A lot of the time hugs made me feel really insecure, considering how freaking skinny my figure was. It was the same as when anybody grabbed my wrist. Somehow when Riker hugged me though I didn't seem to mind. Probably because he didn't try to be all gentle and treat me like a fragile vase.

"So what did you want to do?" He asked as we pulled apart.

"No clue. Andrew just asked me if I wanted to come over so I did." I shrugged, making sure not to speak too loudly and disturb the rare peacefulness of my surroundings.

"Alright then. By the way, did you do something with your hair? It looks like you changed your fringe." Riker stated. I hadn't thought about my hair since re-positioning it to cover up the cut and medical tape on my forehead. It had been designed to just stop people from noticing it but since my hair wasn't thick there was no way I could hide it completely.

"I guess," I replied, shrugging yet again.

_I'm counting on you here Confident Max._

__"Hey what's that behind it?"

_Crap, crap, crap, crap._

__"Nothing really, I just bumped my head on the way home," My response probably came a little too fast. Quickly, my hand moved to my forehead, covering the spot where the very side of the truck had clipped me.

"How long do you think it'll be until Rocky and Clara officially get together?" A smirk snuck onto my face.  
_Please don't press on the last subject Riker, please._

__"Max let me see your head," He pressed.

_No._

__"It's not a big thing, I already dealt with it anyway." I kept smiling. I also kept my hand to my head.  
_Now's the time when you should drop the subject and move on._

__"Max I'm serious."

_Freaking mind reader._

__"Look why don't we-" My voice was left behind when Riker pulled me into a bathroom with a fair amount of force, but not enough to be violent or hurtful. He shut the door behind us before holding onto my shoulders and steering me back a few paces to make me sit down on a stool in the back corner.

I examined the small room while Riker was pulling his black rimmed glasses from the pocket of his shorts. The floor tiles and walls were both a clean shade of cream and so was just about everything else in the room except for the vast array of products on the counter top. It was pretty much covered in things, considering that there were a lot of people living the house.

I looked back at Riker who was now kneeling directly in front of me, glasses on and staring straight into my eyes.

"Don't move. I don't want to accidentally hurt you. Obviously whatever is on your head is serious since you're so reluctant to show me."

My bruised hand gripped onto the side of the stool hard, causing it to flinch away. Thankfully -I think- Riker didn't notice, being too preoccupied with my head.

Slowly I felt him pull my hand away from where it was still sitting over my fringe. He lay it to rest on my lap before returning his attention to my head. Gentle fingers brushed the brown lengths of my fringe behind my ear, finally exposing the cut.

I frowned as I heard Riker suck in a quick breath. His gentle fingers traced a small circle around the area of my cut, inspecting the two delicately placed strips of medical tape and the neat way I had cleaned it earlier.

"See. Not that bad." I smirked. By looking at Riker's face he thought otherwise. His expression almost looked like... fear?

"Max what the heck happened?" He didn't move his hands but his sweet brown eyes began to stare right into mine. Of course, I lied to him.

"I fell over." I didn't look away, no. I looked dead into his eyes while I spoke, making sure not to falter in the slightest while I lied. That was something I had perfected ages ago.

"Off a cliff?" The blonde's voice was sarcastic, but not in a funny way. Now both of his hands had moved to hold the sides of my face without my even noticing. I squirmed where I sat, trying to pull away.

It was crap enough that Riker already could see through my cover ups and knew about some of my problems, I didn't want another thing to add to that list. Why was he so insistent on caring?! I was used to being independent and relying on my confident alter egos to support me so my mind didn't know how to react to this whole 'sharing your problems' deal.

"Max please. What. Happened?" There was literally no other choice but to keep looking into his eyes. I knew I just had to say it or he would continue to try and force the answer out of me and besides, I wanted nothing more than to get out of there. I closed my eyes momentarily to take in a slow, steady breath and place my words into a short sentence.

"I was just clipped by some road raging idiot ok? That's all." Riker's eyes widened behind the rim of his glasses. "Clara pulled me out of the way in time so I just hit my head, hand and also I was only knocked out for like, twenty seconds."

It was done.

Wow I really hated that. I was so used to keeping to myself and forcing everyone away that Riker's weird habit of finding out everything was weirding me out.

I shook off his now slightly limp hands and stood up, sidestepping him and making my way swiftly to the door.

The moment I was out my feet lead me straight to the door of Ryland and Ross's room.

"Andrew I'll see you back home. Don't stay too late or mum and dad will kill us both!"

_Oh hey Fiery Max, haven't seen you in a little while._

I didn't wait for a response, instead practically stormed out of the house. Two months prior I would have happily spent my entire life in that house, a mere dream, but in that instant I just couldn't stand it. People weren't supposed to know my problems!

The cool night air hit me with a slight force, almost halting my footsteps. I wasn't ready to go home just yet, I still needed some time to think things through. And maybe cry too.

My mind traced back to a small park I had seen on the walk back home that afternoon. Considering that it was only a few streets away and would be deserted at this time of night so I set off in that direction. My footsteps were small and normally quiet but in the silence of the late night they sounded like one of Ratliff's drum solos. I smirked halfheartedly. Even when I felt like crap R5 still ruled my mind, being something I loved so much.

As I approached the end of the street I began to hear heavy footsteps approaching behind me.

"Brilliant, what am I going to be mugged now?" I muttered to myself, feeling foul. I ignored the footsteps and continued walking until a large hand gripped onto my arm.

My first thoughts were along the lines of '_Wait am I actually getting mugged?!' _but my mind soon returned it's logic.

"Max I'm so sorry." I turned around right as Riker pulled me into a light hug. I just stood there, not returning his embrace. Something inside made me want to for whatever insane reason but I pushed it away and remained like a tree.

Once released I continued walking silently with my hands in my pockets protectively. They boy -or more like man actually- kept to my side, walking with me without another word.

I stared blankly ahead, noticing the way he kept sending me concerned glances every few seconds from the corner of my eyes.

It didn't take much more than a minute to reach the park, silence hanging over us the entire way. I sat myself down on a swing, kicking my shoes off onto the bark as I did. My eyes searched the night sky for any signs of rain but thankfully everything was clear. Well, almost everything.

"The sky sucks here." My voice was incredibly blunt. Riker was leaning on the supports for the swings, pulling a confused face.

"Why is that?"

"You can't see a single star. It's sad." My bare toes shifted around the bark beneath them, creating a low rustling sound. Riker just nodded gently, agreeing silently. He then made his way behind me and I couldn't help but speak.

"Didn't you ever get told not to stand behind people on swings?" I laughed slightly.

"It's different when you're going to push them." I could hear the small smile in his voice, just from the way he pronounced his words. Oh, the things you learn from being a fangirl.

"So what exactly happened?" I sighed at him, feeling his hands gently pushing on my back.

"I was on the road, a car came, Clara pulled me away as fast as she could, I got hit slightly and here I am." My voice was fast but clear, just loud enough to be heard over the slight squeaking of the swing.

"And who else knows?" I could tell Riker was trying to speak as calmly as possible, probably to stop me from storming off again.

"Just Clara and you,"

"Wait so you haven't seen a doctor? Or even told your parents!?" Riker grabbed onto the chains of the swing, almost causing me to slip off.

"There's no need to. If I told my parents they would just worry and I've already done everything that needed to be done for my forehead and hand." I was blunt yet again.

"Max if anything happens in the future can you tell me at least? I don't want you to get hurt and when you down right refuse help from anyone that's likely to happen. I'll even keep anything you want a secret if that's going to help." He sounded so protective, almost like he was babying me. These thoughts only made me feel less comfortable. I didn't want to be treated like a child. Sure I was younger than Riker but I was 16, not 5.

"Max please?" I couldn't decide whether I had forgotten to answer or just plain ignored him.

"Just let me think for a while."

As much as I absolutely loathed the idea of having to tell my problems to someone constantly it seemed like the best option. Clara was the only person I didn't lie to or try very hard to hide things from. She got me, understood why I was the way I was. Riker hadn't known me for a very long time so it puzzled me that he was so damn insistent. Sure, I had known who he was for ages, being obsessed with R5. I guessed that if I refused his little request he would probably keep forcefully finding out what's going on. Trust me, if it was an option I would rather have had to pump my own stomach acid out through my eyeballs than share my feelings. As pleasant as that sounded, it wasn't a choice.

"I'll try." At first Riker looked surprised but within seconds an accomplished grin spread across his face. He pulled me up from the swing and into quite the bear hug. I laughed loudly as I was lifted from the ground and spun around in a few wild circles.

As soon as he dropped me back onto my feet I almost toppled over from dizziness.

"Whoa there!" Riker laughed as I held his forearm for support. With a quick shake of my head I was back to normal, moving my hand away from it's spot.

"Let's go back. I have school tomorrow and my parents would kill me if I stay out too late." Riker just laughed more when I said this but I still dragged him out of the park.

"I'm glad you and Clara are cool again," he stated as we walked. I nodded and smiled in quiet agreement.

"And you aren't mad at me for this right?" I looked over at him suddenly, frowning at his question.

"Of course not!" I was in a mixed mood, half amused, half concerned.

"Good." My smile returned. No matter how many times I had heard it recorded, Riker's voice was always so pleasant in real life that I just had to feel good.

After turning a few streets we were close to out homes, walking in a comfortable silence. The houses in the area were all partially similar. They all looked relatively neat and were painted for the most part with cool, soft colours.

I had just finished staring at a small cream coloured house with a barely slanted roof when my eyes darted back to my front.

A man wearing what looked like overalls was sauntering along the sidewalk in front of us, stumbling every few steps in his drunken state. I automatically tensed up and stood taller, making myself look stronger and more confident then I really was. The man gave us an amused look and continued walking forward.

_Oh god is that creep looking at me?! _I thought in disgust. He most certainly was and it was making me feel uncomfortable as hell.

Riker slung a firm arm around my small shoulders and pulled me into his side. I could feel the warmth radiating from his body as I leant into him.

The drunk man was right in front of us now, wearing a grossly amused face. He stepped forward so that I could smell the awful amount of alcohol on his breath. I watched, scared as his dilated eyes looked me up and down. Riker's arm stayed firmly around my shoulders, pulling me in closer every few seconds. I moved a hand up and hooked two fingers around one of the side belt loops of Riker's jeans, holding on tightly while he leaned protectively over me.

"Kids," The drunk huffed, smirking at us both before sidestepping awkwardly and heading off into the night.

I shuddered in disgust before burring my face into the side of Riker's chest with a groan.

"You ok?" He gave my shoulders another squeeze. I answered with a lazy nod before pulling my face back. I was about to remove my hand from his belt loop but his arm wasn't moving from my shoulders. Part of my brain was screaming at me to step away but the larger, more dominant part was telling me that we were nearly home and Riker was warm.

"What a creep," I stated, allowing the disgust to be heard in my voice. Riker just started laughing like a child.

"He called me a kid too! I'm 21!" Now it was my turn to laugh at his mock offense. I sometimes forgot that he was actually that age since he acted so immature a lot of the time.

I was smiling happily when we approached my front door. My eyes had gotten so used to the darkness that they were burning slightly from the porch light. Riker pulled me into a quick hug before we exchanged goodbyes and separated.

As much as I hated it at the same time, I enjoyed having another close friend.

* * *

**That chapter took way longer to write than I like! ._.'**

**Well anyway, I hope it was alright. Please review! I love you all and smile whenever I see any responses to my writing! **

**URxGORGEx Just to let you know, Mackie will be back in the next chapter and I plan on getting her more involved soon!**

**You're all Rossome, Rikerlicious and what not. As usual, ROCK ON! 3**


	16. Chapter 16

**G'DAY! ... Sorry, I was camping in the outback for the weekend and I just felt like saying that.**

**Well, I hope you enjoy and review! Here goes!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any people, places, companies or anything else you may recognize in this fanfiction. I do own the storyline and my OC.**

* * *

***MAX'S POV***

I woke up the next morning to the glorious sound of Andrew trying to burp the alphabet beside my bunk bed. He got a fluffy surprise when I threw my black pillow over the railings and right onto his head. I smirked as I heard his groan, rolling over to stare down at him.

"Mum said you need to get up for school!"

Then it was my turn to groan.

Once Andrew had left my room and headed downstairs I lazily dragged myself down the short ladder before walking over to my closet.

Ten minutes later I was dressed in white skinny jeans, a plain deep purple top that hugged my hips and matching purple converse. I gave my hair a light brushing before splitting it into two sides and putting one over each shoulder and into a simple style. Luckily it covered up the cut on my forehead nicely. My bruised hand was still covered in light bandages but if anyone asked what happened I would just say I burnt myself cooking. As per usual, no makeup was applied.

After a quick breakfast of pancakes and grabbing my messenger style bag I worked my way out the front door and to a shady spot under the single large tree in my front yard.

I leant my back up against it, looking out over the green lawn. It was definitely greener than the dry grass back in Australia, especially with the soft morning sun lighting it.

It seemed like seconds later when I spotted Clara walking down the street towards me, just as I had expected. What I hadn't expected was to see a second figure beside her. The distinct bleached blonde hair made me positive of who it was.

Riker and Clara continued walking my way without even noticing me. They both wore incredibly serious expressions as they talked which was a rather rare sight. I smirked and leant back further onto the tree trunk, watching silently as they continued towards me.

When the duo _finally _focused back on planet Earth they spotted me, giving each other an unrecognizable look straight after. Me being me I couldn't help but wonder what it was supposed to mean.

Their moods seemed to lighten when they reached the tree and they both hugged me tightly. I grinned at them both.

"Why so serious?"

The two gave each other a look that I actually knew. Plain 'ole hesitation.

"I kinda wanted to talk to Riker about... Uh," I frowned, immediately thinking they had been discussing the the incident last night. Luckily though she finished her sentence but not without turning a hilarious shade of pink.

"About Rocky."

I let myself have a slight squeal of happiness for her, I immediately regretting it because it sounded so freaking weird.

"_And_?!" I demanded to know more.

"I can say for sure that he's been checking her out," My smile spread to twice the size as Riker confirmed my thoughts before I pulled my best friend into a death hug. This basically involved me squeezing her so tight that she worried that she would either break a rib or go down a bra size. Pleasant, isn't it!?

I was so indescribably happy for her, knowing just how much it meant to have the literal guy of her dreams be into her. I must say it didn't surprise me. Clara had always attracted the attention of boys with her hots.

"I wonder of it's your eyes that he likes the most? They're so cool!" I did my usual of complimenting the beautifully textured eyes she had, earning myself nothing more than a friendly shoulder barge.

Riker was smiling at us both, seeming to be intrigued by our little fangirling session. I turned to face him, deciding to stop his little show.

"Would you be able to tell me the time?" I bit my lip in hope, wanting to know how long Clara and I had until we had to be at school.

"I don't know, can I?" He gave me a mischievous and very sarcastic grin. I raised an eyebrow in an attempt to look both amused and irritated.

Before I could even open my mouth to reply Clara tugged on my purple sleeve. I looked over to where she was displaying the time on her phone. There was only ten minutes until first period started.

"We have to go or we're going to be late! Sorry!" I shot Riker an apologetic look as we started backing up towards the footpath.

"If you guys want I can organize you a lift home from school today. Rydel is going to pick up a friend of ours who goes to your school as well and she's going to hang out here for a while. I'm sure Rydel would be fine with two extra passengers and also, you could hang out with us too?"

I was about to decline the offer, not wanting to be a bother when Clara started nodding enthusiastically beside me, causing her blonde ponytail to flick back and forth.

"That would be great," I smiled, deciding to give in.

"Awesome, I'll let Rydel know so just look out for our car this afternoon! I'll see you later!" He called with a wave before heading across my yard and into his own.

I sighed before dragging Clara towards our school.

"I can't believe Rocky Lynch could possibly like me!" Her smile was just as wide as mine.

"Not possibly, definitely!" I winked at her, earning myself a playful shove in the arm.

"Dork," She laughed at her own fake insult.

"Oh how hurtful, please excuse me while I go and cry in a corner." My voice really piled on the sarcasm.

* * *

***Recess***

I brought Clara through the crowded school hallways and out into the school's grassy square to pick up our lunch. I had to admit that I was a teeny bit excited to bring her to meet the little group of friends I had found.

We practically rushed over to the actual cafeteria area where we were shoved around as usual before we managed to escape back into the square with a satisfactory amount of food. Yay for American high schools.

I led Clara silently towards the thicket of bushes that hid The Den. I couldn't wait to bring her inside of our secret little spot and introduce her to everyone else.

I started grinning once we reached the hidden entrance, watching a familiar caramel haired girl emerge. Mackie stood up fully before pulling me into a hug.

"Max you're here! How did you survive the lunch line without me!?" I laughed, feeling less out of place now that I was around her British accent. I looked to my right where Clara was giving Mackie and I a confused look.

"Meet Clara, the one I've told you about!" I pulled my best friend closer to me, introducing her fondly.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Mackenzie Jade Skye, but just call me Mackie!" I laughed as they shook hands, admiring the British girl's highly formal introduction.

Clara was holding onto the back of my shirt as we weaved into the bushes, making our way to the usual spot. I laughed loudly once we reached The Den, watching her eyes go wide.

"This is awesome!" She stated the obvious. It wasn't the first time I had been in The Den but every time I still had to admire it. The whole place was like a large leafy cavern, big enough for us to stand up in and move around comfortably but not so big that it can be seen from outside of the bushes. The beautiful green that surrounded me smelt fresh and sweet, reminding me of forests back in Australia. I looked upwards at the splashes of sunlight that made it through the think layer of leaves and winding branches, lighting our cavern.

The floor wasn't dirt or mud, in fact it was clean concrete. Mackie had told me how a few years back there had been a large storm water drain in the place of The Den but students kept dropping possessions down the grid so it was filled in, covered with a layer of concrete and had bushes planted around it to cover up the random grey rectangle, which later formed The Den. The area was basically passed down by students to the friends they shared it with in younger grades, each keeping the place a secret and making sure to keep it clean.

I pulled Clara down onto the concrete next to Mackie and I before introducing her to the other four people we were with. Dylan, a tall read haired boy, Sophia, a sweet little Asia girl, Lena, the senior who was a smart blonde and finally Eric who had short black gelled up hair. They all smiled and made Clara feel welcome, telling her the ins and outs of the group.

I couldn't help but feel pleased at how well they all got along, considering that they knew Clara had formerly hung out with Abby Baker, our grade's queen bee.

White teeth shone as I smiled at my group. My group of real friends.

* * *

***After school, still MAX'S POV***

Clara, Mackie and I were all walking out of the school gates, giggling about the way frog guts had gotten onto Abby's shirt during Biology class.

"I can't believe I ever hung out with her!" Clara exclaimed in disgust. I laughed and gave her a knowing smile as we walked.

"So are you two walking home as usual?" Mackie asked us in her sweet accent as we stood to the left of the large gates.

"We would be but a friend of ours has offered us a lift." I smiled, not wanting to say who it was just in case Mackie knew R5.

"Awesome, me too!" She smiled before we all started to sit down and lean on the school walls.

As we sat in a comfortable silence watching students flowing out of the school like a steady river I started wondering who the other girl that Rydel was picking up was. The only things I knew about her was that she was friends with the Lynch s and went to our school. Not much of a giveaway. I sighed, deciding to just wait and see.

Sooner than I had expected I saw Rydel's car pulling up at the side of the street. I smiled and pulled Clara up.

"We'll see you tomorrow Mackie! Our ride's here!" I gave a small fake salute.

"Yeah! My friend is here too! Perfect timing!" I tilted my head, letting out a quick giggle at the coincidence.

We were all walking in the same direction, leading us to think that we were having a bit of a joke.

This thought was quickly wiped away when we all ended up standing beside Rydel's parked car, reaching for a door handle.

"Wait are you the other friend Rydel's picking up!?" I gasped at Mackie in disbelief.

"You guys know the Lynch s?" She quizzed.

"Yeah, Max lives next door to them!" Clara squealed, obviously excited by the whole ordeal.

"How do _you _know them" It was my turn to quiz.

"My dad is the head of R5's security team! I can't believe this! I can finally talk to other people at school who know R5!" We were all wearing shocked yet deliriously happy expressions as we clambered into the back seat of Rydel's car, exchanging excited greetings as she pulled away from the curb.

My heart pumped in my chest as I stared around at the people in the well cleaned car and my mind could only repeat a single sentence.

_This afternoon was going to be yet another awesome one!_

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**:3 I think I find that chapter satisfactory. Hopefully you do too! Please review and tell me whatever the heck you think, good or bad I wanna know it etc etc the usual.**

**Anyway, I'm happy to bring Mackie back into the story! Hopefully in the next chapter I'll introduce another one! I have a pretty good idea of what I want to happen! Hehehe, well see you my awesome readers! ROCK ON! 3**


	17. Chapter 17

**I AM SO SORRY! I know I haven't uploaded in about a week but I swear I have legitimate reasons! XD First of all I was flooded with assignments from every subject which was incredibly painful and second, I have written this chapter once before ._. Last night I wrote it completely, desperate to update and I spent three hours on it. I was literally starting my end of chapter A/N when my laptop froze. A few seconds later it returned to normal but the chapter was gone! So, that was devastating! XD Anyway I hope this is still alright because I really hate re-writing but I need to try! Here goes, enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any people, places, companies or anything else you may recognize in this fanfiction. I do own the storyline and my OC's.**

* * *

** *MAX'S POV***

"It's a long way!"

"To the top!"

"If you 'wanna rock and roll!"

Rydel, Mackie, Clara and I had started rocking out to AC/DC's It's a _Long Way to the Top _the moment we had switched on the radio to a station dedicated to rock classics. We weren't exactly singing, in fact it was probably closer to plain shouting. I was cackling with laughter at the way Mackie was practicing some full out head banging in her seat when an extra loud shout erupted in my left ear.

"It's a long way! To the shop, if you want a sausage roll!" I couldn't stop myself from laughing even louder at Clara's addition to the lyrics, clutching my stomach and practically gasping for air.

"What's that in aid of?" Mackie stopped her dramatic moves for a few seconds to glorify us with her awesome British accent again. I swore I would never get sick of hearing it!

"Nothing, it just popped into my head!" I managed to reduce myself to giggles after Clara's simple reply.

Just a few minutes later Rydel turned into our street, still singing and bobbing along to the classics. We were still smiling and laughing like complete maniacs once the car was parked. All four of us piled out and gathered on the Lynches' lawn.

"Max and I will meet you at your place in a moment, we're just going to drop off our stuff in her room," I smiled silently at the way Clara didn't bother to ask for my permission, she just commanded the situation. Rydel and Mackie nodded as my best friend started dragging me by my deep purple shirt towards my house.

She released me once we had made it to the doorstep, allowing me to flip open my black messenger style bag. My hands pushed through some bland school books, a scientific calculator and a few other items before I came to an irritating conclusion.

"Clara I forgot my key," I grimaced at the words. Up until then I hadn't had a visit from my annoying habit at all in America.

"Max! We haven't lived here for that long so I don't have your spare key yet! How are we supposed to get inside?!"

"Hey Andrew left after us this morning, maybe he left a downstairs window unlocked?" My mind began to consider options.

"Let's check. I'll take the left side of the house, you take the right!" I smirked at Clara's commands again before giving a quick mocking salute and following my orders.

Once I was walking down the small strip of grass between my house and the white concrete wall that separated it from the Lynches'. I approached the first window, my footsteps sounding oddly quiet on the grass below. I carefully hooked my fingers around the white timber frame and gave it an experimental push. It didn't budge.

I let out a heavy sigh before trying the next two windows, only to be rewarded with the same result. I was about to give in and check on how Clara was doing on the other side of my house when my eyes drifted to the small, rectangular window that was designed to let steamy air out from the downstairs bathroom. It was slightly high up and much smaller than any other window I could possibly access but I was pretty sure that it was unlocked.

My feet trailed towards it for closer inspection and for once I was actually thankful for the fact that I was so small and thin. I quickly made up my mind and searched for a way to reach the slot. It didn't take long to find a solution which involved dragging a trash can underneath the window.

I slipped off my purple converse and dropped my bag onto the dry grass and then swung myself onto the lid of the bin, trying not to cause too much noise. My hands automatically wiped themselves on my white jeans –like a genius- before I looked up. My eyes were now level with the semi-opaque window. The rim of it was metal but painted white so it blended into the wall and the glass itself pivoted on a similar bar. I ghosted my hands once around the joints before giving it a hopeful push. Luckily this time I was successful.

I made sure that the louver was pushed as far open as it would go before firmly planting my hands on the bottom rim. One blast of my swimming muscles brought my head and shoulders through the tight rectangle but the tips of my bare feet were still able to touch the top of the trash can. I used that small amount of contact to kick off, bringing my body further into the small window but also causing the bin to fall onto the ground and roll a few feet away.

"Well crap." I muttered to myself whilst stabilizing myself by pressing my hands onto the inside wall of my nicely tiled bathroom. I was hanging halfway through it, my butt and legs dangling outside still. It took less than a second for me to realize something else. If I tried to continue into the bathroom I would end up face planting on the tiles which, although it would have been entertaining for others, I didn't fancy. I couldn't back out either since the trash can had rolled away.

"Clara! Can you come here please!?" I shouted, trying my hardest to let my voice carry to wherever she was. As much as I positively loathed asking for help I needed that bin stood back up. I huffed out a breath, trying to clear the strands of my brown hair from where they swung over my half upside-down face.

Merely a few seconds later I heard a dreadful squeal from outside of the window. Either someone had just been stabbed or Clara had seen me and was laughing so hard that she could hardly breathe. Sadly, I knew there wasn't a murder going on.

"What the hell Max!?" She managed between laughs and gasps for air.

"Can you please just put that bin back beneath my feet?" I called, wincing at the way my voice echoed around the bathroom.

"No way! I'm getting the others to see this! Oh and we can take a few photos too!" My muscles decided to spaz out at the intake of this new information.

"You can't! Clara no! We dreamed about just meeting R5 for so long and now that we're actually _friends _with them you want to ruin it by giving them a brilliant view of my ass!?" My protests only made her laughing grow louder.

"What are best friends for?" She giggled before I heard her running off in the direction of the Lynches' house.

My feet were kicking awkwardly outside whilst my front half was searching the bathroom for a way down with no results. I was positive that my white skinny jeans were down slightly, revealing the top of my light blue lacy underwear. At this realization my mind switched to panic mode.

_Bloody hell they're all going to see my freaking underwear! My butt is sticking out of a damn window! They aren't seriously going to take photos, right!?_

I forced my brain to calm down and put my careful training into action, switching into a confident mode and ready to try and laugh off the situation, even if I was dying of embarrassment inside. A low groan escaped my lips before I let myself dangle limply over the wall, seeing no point of struggling any further.

I was just imagining what Clara would be saying at that very moment, knowing that it was probably being choked out in between her melodic laugh. _Brilliant._ _Embarrassment, here I come!_

* * *

**Well… remember how I said I hate re-writing? THIS IS THE PERFECT EXAMPLE! I'm rather unhappy with this chapter, but it's just a lead up to better events. Again I'm sorry it's taken so long for me to get you an update but hopefully after the next week my assignments will stop flooding me.**

**I wanted to say THANK YOU because over the week this fic has gained a few more followers and favorites! That's great! Well PLEASE REVIEW and tell me anything you think, good or bad! **

**Shout out to my incredible buddies R5inmysoul, URxGORGEx and YellowR5LOUD32 for your continued support! Everyone should seriously check out their fics because they're so great and enjoyable to read!**

**I LOVE YOU ALL as usual and I hope you can stay Rossome, Rikerlicious and perfect! ROCK ON! 3**


	18. Chapter 18

**Well my exams are still going but my assignments are all over. Things are starting to ease off finally THANK THE LORD OF REDVINES (I swear I will try them when I go to America one day!). Anyway, sorry things have been quiet around here but as you'll have guessed I've been pretty busy. Anyway, here you go guys! I love ya and hope you enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any people, places, companies or anything else you may recognize in this fanfiction. I do own the storyline and my OCs.**

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***RIKER'S POV***

"GUYSGUYSGUYSGUYS!" I flicked my head around to see Clara racing into my house, her face red and wearing a smile wider than an ocean.

"Where's Max? Wasn't she coming over too?" I asked, setting my ukulele down on the sofa beside me. Clara looked like she was about to speak again but suddenly doubled over. I stood up in alarm, going to check if she was ok.

She bent back up just before I reached her and showed us all that she was laughing. _Really _hard. I sighed in relief, glad that Max's best friend wasn't hurt at least.

"You all absolutely need to come over to Max's house!" She was giggling uncontrollably, her straight blonde hair swishing around her face. Rocky, Rydel, Ross, Ryland, Ratliff, Mackie and I all slowly followed Clara's still laughing figure out of the door. Being last I closed it behind us, having to then jog a few paces to catch up to the others who were already halfway across our front lawn.

"Clara-Rose Anderson, I swear I will rip out your lungs! Turn them around, chase them back into their house and GET ME THE HELL DOWN!" Everyone exchanged weirded out frowns when they heard the shout, except for Clara who of course had started laughing even harder. I honestly thought the girl was going to collapse from lack of oxygen. She grabbed onto the wrist of the closest person –being Rydel- and began dragging her faster towards the Locknel's house.

"Clara I'm serious!" we heard another shout, this time able to recognise the voice. "Do _not _bring them around here you twat!" Max yelled, her voice sounding oddly muffled. I sped up, curious and intrigued by the power and hidden panic I could hear in her voice.

***MAX'S POV***

"GET ME THE HELL DOWN! Do _not _ bring them around here you twat!" I finished yelling, kicking my legs back and forth out of the window. I could hear footsteps coming closer and closer, adding to the dread I felt.

_Please don't let them see me. Please don't let them see me._

Suddenly I heard a chorus of hysterical laughter erupting about 20 feet away from the window, closely followed by rounds of gasping and then back to laughing. I groaned rather loudly, adding an extra grunt because of the way the sounds echoed around my bathroom. My feet kept kicking, mainly in an attempt to keep my legs up and stop my butt from sticking out quite as much.

"Max should I even ask?" Mackie's British voice managed to reach my ears over the loud laughing.

"Can someone just help me down? Please…" My voice was so quiet that I was pretty sure that nobody could hear me. My hands went to hide my face, even though my front half was out of sight and inside of the window.

I was literally about to go for a painful faceplant onto the bathroom tiles just to escape the embarrassment when I felt two hands on my waist.

"Don't hold onto anything inside, I'm gonna lift you out ok?" My ears picked up the unmistakable voice of Riker. I obeyed him, wanting nothing more than to be out of that rectangular hell. His hands slid a little lower so they were braced on my hip bones for better support before giving a gentle pull. The movement stopped after less than a second when a shrieking laugh dominated over the rest.

"Max your butt is right in Riker's face! Nice lacy blue underwear! Very sexy girl!" I recognised Clara's voice. I. Was. Going. To. Kill. Her.

Riker started to pull me out again, going slowly as if he was worried I would hit something or hurt myself with a wrong movement.

Once I was finally back on the ground I slumped my back against the wall, sliding down to sit on the grass.

"I haven't laughed so hard in ages!" Ross puffs, leaning his shoulder on a very bewildered looking Mackie. Once I had released a well asked for groan I noticed Rydel giving Mackie a little wink to which she blushed at. I eyed Mackie a bit, noticing how she kept sending sideways glances at Ross and smiling whenever he did.

"Interesting…" I mumbled to myself whilst everyone else stood around, some still laughing and other randomly chatting for whatever reason.

"What's interesting?" Riker sat down next to me, our elbows touching.

"Ross and Mackie." I stated plainly in the hope that my voice didn't waver. I refused to make eye contact with the blonde seeing as he had just had the experience of my ass in his face which I'm sure would have been glorious. If he were blind.

"Mackie's liked him for ages and everyone can tell. Except Ross himself of course, he's completely clueless." Riker laughed before turning to face me properly.

"We're going to have to get them together somehow…" I began to brainstorm ideas immediately, entering my own world.

"One day I'll find a way to understand what goes on inside of your head." Riker smiled, tapping my head and bringing me back to reality.

"What makes you say that?"

"It's just the way you act is kind of interesting and-"

"Suddenly you two are close as ever now that you've been _up close and personal _right!?" Clara squealed, as she skipped over with Rocky and the others in tow. I rocketed up from the ground, unable to decide if what I felt was more embarrassment or fury. Clara bolted off, her straight blonde hair waving behind her to the same rhythm as she was laughing to.

"I swear if you weren't my best friend I would be planning your assassination already!" I yelled after her. My feet only ran me a few paces before deciding to be lazy and let my friend run pointlessly down the street like an idiot. Although I was still fuming, my mind couldn't help but linger around the words Riker had started to say. Was is a compliment or was he just saying that I was interesting to watch?

My thoughts were brought back to reality when Mr Confusing himself handed me my bag and shoes that I had previously abandoned on the grass. I gave him a quick nod as a thank you before setting off towards the front of my house and turning to go to the Lynch's with the others.

Once we all reached their doorstep Clara raced up behind. I took a non-serious but threateningly loud step towards my best friend and she immediately hid behind Rocky, ducking down low. Quite low.

"Now who's getting up close and personal?" I couldn't resist. Clara's eyes looked directly in front of her face to find herself staring about 2 inches away from Rocky's butt.

I burst out laughing as she pulled away quickly, glad that the attention was away from me. I was experiencing a gigantic flood of relief knowing that if she ever tried to tease me about Riker's face being in my ass while pulling me out of a window I had something to come back at her with.

Clara and I both dropped our shoes and bags just inside of the Lynch's door seeing as we didn't have any success in putting them in my house. We met up with everyone else in the living room and flopped down on the couches. I had managed to be the unlucky one who didn't fit so I ended up on the floor.

After a while of randomly chatting, mainly about how Mackie knew R5, I found myself lying down lazily on the carpet.

It turned out that Mackenzie's dad was one of Ross' but also R5's primary security guards and his daughter was granted the opportunity to become good friends with the famous group. They had known each other for just over 2 years and the British girl was considered a very close friend, though I suspected that with Ross it would morph into more.

I closed my eyes to just think for a moment, wondering who else Mackie's dad had worked for.

"I think I want that seat more," I ignored someone's words until I felt a _heavy _pressure on my stomach. My eyes shot open and I saw none other than Riker sitting on me.

"Do you mind?" I cleared my throat, pushing out confident Max. Riker turned his head, looked me in the eyes and shot me a mischievous grin.

"We're even now. Two butt-related actions make up for each other." My face reddened has he began laughing but I quickly shook the embarrassment off. There was no way that I was going to let years of training my emotions to act differently become pointless just because I loved being around those people.

"Hey Max?" I looked over to where Rydel was sitting on one of the lightly coloured couches, trying to ignore Ratliff's endless speech about moustaches. "Why is it that you were in a window?"

_Insert internal groan here. Why did she have to ask?_

I got into the explanation, piling on truckloads of sarcastic comments to turn the story from making them laugh _at_ me to making them laugh _with_ me. All the while I still had a tall blonde sitting on me.

I was up to the part where I realized that I would implant my face onto the bathroom floor if I moved forward when I discreetly noticed Ross watching Mackie slyly, smirking at the way she smiled during my story.

_The obviousness that those two like each other is painful. To let them continue as just friends would be downright irresponsible._

I hid a smile and continued talking but this time I wasn't truly paying attention. My mind reeled with far too many a-freaking-dorable ideas and plans to get the pair to realise how they felt. It's what was best for both of them.

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**._. Well there it is! Haha I hope it was alright :) Hey, I have a few ideas already for some of Max's plans but for a bit of fun why don't you guys give me some suggestions? If I really like one I'll use it and give you a mention at the end. No promises but I'm sure there will be some awesome ideas! Anyway, I'll try my best to update soon! ROCK ON! 3**


	19. Chapter 19

**OK I'M IN THE CLEAR FOR THIS WEEK! I think I did alright on all of my exams and assignments (minus HPE but meh) which is good but not what you are here for, so ON WITH THE CHAPTER! It's not very eventful but I don't want a story where there's absolute major life threatening drama in every chapter because that's just unrealistic. I hate writing like that but I don't mind reading it when other people have done it as long as it's not ****_too _****bad. Well here goes! You're all brilliant as always.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any people, places, companies or anything else you may recognize in this fanfiction. I do own my OCs and the storyline.**

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***RIKER'S POV***

I swear that girl always had something amusing to talk about. As I sat on Max's oddly comfortable stomach I couldn't help but find myself staring at the way her smile shaped her lightly freckled cheeks. She went on talking for a while, explaining the answer to the whole 'window incident' to us all whilst smiling, laughing and being very sarcastic throughout the entire thing. She seemed perfectly fine to everyone else but alike multiple times before then, I noticed that it was all a cover. A wall to shield the real emotions and thoughts she had inside.

To my surprise however, there were moments when her eyes showed that she was genuinely laughing. It seemed like, for whatever reason, she was becoming more confident and at home around us all. I smiled down at her, trying to understand for the millionth time just what went on inside of her mind. Of course I came to no deep conclusions.

I was laughing at the way she was describing her distressed thoughts when I saw her eyes dart to the side and a totally different smirk appear on her pink lips. Curiosity made me follow her line of sight to see my brother eyeing Mackie with a look that suggested a bit more than friendliness.

Now wearing my own smirk I turned back to where Max lay beneath me on the floor with her brown- blonde streaked hair slightly fanned out around her. The look hidden deep in her knowing brown eyes went unnoticed by the others but I could practically see the gears turning in her head and for one of those rare fun moments, I could tell exactly what was on her mind.

_Mackie and Ross better prepare their romantic interiors because Max is on the job._

***MAX'S POV***

I was literally in pain. The atmosphere between the famous blonde and the caramel haired Brit was seriously making me want to yell at them to kiss already.

My mind was reeling with possibilities, so much so that I thought I would start shuffling on the spot. This action of course would have been rather hard seeing as Riker was still freaking sitting on me.

_Way to make a girl feel less embarrassed about HAVING HER BUTT IN YOUR FACE!_

I forced my thoughts away once I had _finally _finished my story. A few people were still laughing but most were just smiling and shaking their heads at me. I looked up at Riker only to find him already staring down at me. I was slightly taken back until he subtly motioned towards Mackie and Ross who were both staring unknowingly down to where their elbows were touching. I mean come on; if they weren't the most obvious mutually crushing friends I had ever seen I would have given someone full permission to legitimately rip off my face.

Once I had torn my disbelieving gaze away from the pair and back to the person who was using me as a seat I saw the smile tugging on his lips.

"Are you thinking the same as…"

"Yeah." Riker finished my sentence for me, leaving me slightly amused. I literally shoved him off of me to sit up, closing my eyes as I stretched out my abused muscles. Hanging from a window and then having a heavy 21 year old male sit on you doesn't exactly do wonders to your body.

We all stood up as if we had telepathically decided to all at once. Phase 1 of any plan was always to think, and if other people were helping then discuss ideas. For this to happen I needed to temporarily remove the targets, being Ross and Mackie from the picture.

"Am I the only one who's hungry?" I shrugged my shoulders and went to move into the kitchen, hoping the others would follow.

"I'll go and put some food in bowls alright?" Mackie beat me to the Lynch's kitchen door. I went to deny her offer and save my plan when Ross moved to her side.

"I'll help her. You guys go set up a movie in Riker and Rocky's room or something." Ross stated. If he wasn't an actor that would have sounded _way _less convincing. It took a load of self-control to hide my ever growing smirk from the pair as I quickly pivoted and made my way towards the boys' room, careful not to be too obvious. I didn't need to look to know that Rydel, Clara, Rocky, Riker and Ratliff were following close behind as it was clear from the footsteps I heard.

Once we reached the closed door to Riker and Rocky's room I stepped aside to allow one of the boys to open it. I maintained a good posture but inside felt out of place. For whatever reason I didn't like opening the door to other people's rooms or houses at times. It was as if I was just inviting myself in without permission, even if I did have it.

Nobody, not even Riker, noticed this though which was a nice relief.

We filed silently inside and planted ourselves on the beds. I sat with Riker on his bed with Rydel and Rocky, Ellington and Clara sat on the second bed on the other side of the room. Seeing as the room was quiet I decided to start the conversation.

"I'm pretty sure we can all see the blatantly obvious 'feelings' that Ross and Mackie share and I seriously will jump off a cliff if we don't get them together soon." I crossed my arms and leant back slightly, waiting expectantly for a response. Everyone nodded in agreement and it looked like at least Ell and Clara were going to speak when Riker moved forward on his bed.

"We should make it cute but not obvious so that way they won't know it was us who set it up." I gave him an approving look and turned to the others.

"Oh can Rocky and I be in charge of making the plan?" Clara bounced beside the taller brunette beside her. Under normal conditions I would have been extremely concerned about the sort of terrible ideas those two could have together but I figured if we left them to work together they might finally make their 'thing', whatever it was, official. Two birds with one stone.

"That's fine I guess, just make sure it'll work. Let us know whenever you decide what to do." I nodded at them.

"We should choose a movie before Ross and Mackie come back and get suspicious," Rydel warned us in a low voice.

I watched in silence as Rydel, Rocky, Clara and Ell went to crowd around the small stack of DVDs the boys had left in their room from their last movie watching spree.

"You're not gonna help choose?" Riker leant towards me so he could be heard through the slight squabbling that the others had built up.

"I'm fine with whatever they choose, as long as they enjoy it." I shrugged my small shoulders dismissively and sat back to watch the movie choosing fiasco.

Ross and Mackie soon entered, navigating their way around everyone to place multiple bowls of candies, chips and other snacks onto the limited space around the moderately sized TV stand. In my eyes it looked as if the large amount of food would last ages but then I remembered that I was amongst four young guys who would probably dig in like a pack of hyenas.

"What do you think they'll pick?" Riker moved closer to me again but kept his eyes focused on the others.

"Honestly, with those guys I wouldn't have a clue. If it were just the boys then it'd be an action movie but with Clara and Delly there too they'll be fighting for a more girly movie. Neither of them will give in easily so it could be anything from _The Notebook _to _Mission Impossible._" Riker chuckled upon hearing my opinion. "What?" I tilted my head slightly in question.

"You just completely analyzed them and your facts seem totally right." He was giving me an impressed and curious look to which I just shrugged yet again, not seeing anything special in what I'd done.

"Ok We've chosen!" Clara squealed and pranced –yes pranced- over to the TV, of course with Rocky in tow. He quietly showed my best friend how to work the DVD player and we were soon all seated and waiting for the menu to pop up.

"So what is the movie after all?" Riker asked nobody in particular. A chorus of excited answers immediately followed.

"Paranormal Activity!"

_Well I survived being embarrassed from being stuck in a window but this may change that. Why'd they have to choose a freaking scary movie? Crapcrapcrapcrap…_

* * *

**See, what'd I tell you? It's uneventful but yeah... I explained at the start XD **

**Anywhooo I wanted to point out that when I said 'chips' I meant 'crisps' for all of you British people... We say chips here in Aus. **

**Ok so in a weeks time I'll be going on holidays (I know, sorry, I'll be unable to post again) to an island on the Great Barrier Reef which I do yearly with my family. It's definitely my favourite place on Earth and I get to use my speargun -for spearfishing, not murdering in case your mind thought otherwise ;) - and go snorkeling and do other general islandy things. I'll try to post again before I leave but it's full on camping on the island so there's some pretty hardcore packing, planning and preparation that goes on beforehand so I don't know if I'll be able to. I'LL TRY MY BEST THOUGH!**

**I love you all! Thanks for sticking with me so far and hopefully you'll stay until the end of this fic and maybe for future ones! **

**ROCK ON! 3**


	20. Chapter 20

**I'M BACK! I'VE MISSED YOU ALL SO MUCH *insert dramatic sobbing***

**Ok I'm calm. Anyway my holiday was a lot of fun (except for the weather haha) and I got to do heaps of snorkeling, spearfishing and other fun activities. The Great Barrier Reef makes me pretty proud to be Australian! Anyway I wanted to update as soon as I got back but once I'd written this chapter my laptop decided to be a total *&$% and stopped letting me use internet so I couldn't upload the writing file until now! So glad it's working again so I should get back to updating a fair bit more regularly! Anyway, love you all and ENJOY!**

***WOO YAY CHAPTER 20!***

**Disclaimer: I do not own any people, places, companies or anything else you may recognize in this fanfiction. I do own my OCs and the story line.**

* * *

***MAX'S POV***

Well that was just bloody brilliant.

Who in their right mind would even want to watch a horror movie at that time of day? Usually people preferred to watch scary movies at night time when it was dark so I was a bit confused seeing that it was only early afternoon.

"So, why'd you choose that?" I asked the group who were making themselves comfortable around Riker and Rocky's room.

"Well the girls wanted to watch a chick flick and Ratliff and I wanted an action movie but we settled on a horror movie because we thought everyone would at least be ok with that." Rocky answered triumphantly after the usual wordless debate among the sibling as to who would talk. I couldn't stop myself from feeling a little bit better as Ross groaned and slumped to the carpeted floor in between the two beds. Mackie -for some _totally_ unknown reason- slid down quietly beside him.

Rydel sat directly behind Mackie on the floor whilst Ell was sitting at the end of Rocky's bed closest to the TV. I gave Clara a highly amused smirk as she leant comfortably against Rocky's shoulder on his bed. She winked back at me and Rocky seemed to notice, taking it as his cue to casually place his arm around her, causing her face to light up. She wasn't shy to rest her head back on him, eventually turning to properly face the screen after one last eyebrow wiggle was sent my way. I gave a happy looking Rocky a subtle thumbs up before shuffling around on Riker's bed until I was leaning against the side wall.

Someone switched the lights off so the room was only lit by the soft glow of the TV.

I reluctantly faced the screen myself, completely aware that my face was a portrait of dread. As a precaution I let my eyes wander to my right where Riker sat, completely at home on his own bed. Relief flooded through my heavily pulsing veins at the news that nobody had noticed my discomfort. I forced myself to return focus to the start of the film.

* * *

By the time we had made it three quarters of the way through _Paranormal Activity _I was not having fun.

My muscles were completely tensed and ready to spring at any given moment. I hadn't moved an inch since I had settled at the start so my arms and legs were starting to give off a dull ache which just added to the unpleasant situation.

Just as I was about to force my limbs to move a high pitched screaming startled me. The woman in the movie was being dragged down the hallway violently by the invisible demon, kicking and screaming as she went.

I shrunk back into the wall in fear, hating the way my eyes refused to look away from the screen. I swear I was close to whimpering out loud when a felt something warm slide onto my thigh in the darkness. My body immediately flinched, going to retreat from the unknown movement but I was firmly pulled closer.

My eyes widened more, if possible, when I saw that it was definitely not a demon who was touching me. It was Riker.

I loosened my muscles slightly at his touch, allowing his arms to pull me closer. Without a word he wrapped his arms around my curled body and forcefully dragged me so that I was sitting in front of him, sandwiched between his raised knees. Every muscle in my body froze once again as he pulled at my shoulders until my back was resting on his chest. His arms wrapped themselves comfortably but in a non-constricting way around my neck.

"You looked terrified." He spoke so quietly that if I couldn't see his lips moving I wouldn't have noticed. I heaved a sigh, not even bothering to deny the obvious. He silently turned my head to face the movie again. I felt his warm chin rest on the top of my head before he re-focused on the movie himself.

As we lay there I barely focused on the movie, instead finding my mind prying at stupid, unimportant little details until I was having a full blown conversation with myself in my head.

_You and Riker are breathing at the same time now. _

_'Gimme a break brain._

_Seriously, your heartbeats might be in sync too. Imagine that._

_Wow that's so very- no. I really don't care._

_Wrong. You must care because you're the one thinking about it-_

_Spare me the crap. Riker is my friend and I don't have any extra feelings towards him so don't try to make it that way._

_I said nothing about liking him that way. Ha. Caught. You liiiiike him._

_No! I was just saying to stop making it seem like-_

_How much do you like him?_

_I told you I don't!_

"AAAAAAH!"

_Wait what?_

I snapped my head up to be greeted by the rather hilarious image of Ross cowering into a terrified ball. At least I wasn't the only one afraid of horror movies.

I pressed my face into Riker's warm arms to try to muffle my laughter.

Mackie meanwhile scooted closer to Ross, nudging him with her elbow and giving him small but reassuring smiles. I called that progress.

I finally managed to return my full attention to the movie which was now closing in on a horrific ending.

* * *

"That was awesome!" Rocky stated; switching the lights on as credits began to reel down the screen. "We have do this again sometime!"

"I think not." I grumbled, sitting up from where I had still been leaning on Riker. The bassist sat up behind me, letting his head flop onto my back.

"I'm tired now," He muttered. "Anyone else?"

A few lazy nods rounded the now brightened room but I didn't join in. There was no way I felt like sleeping now that I had a bunch of cringe worthy mental images of a demon brutally murdering me spinning through my mind. No thanks.

Clara was comfortably attached to Rocky's side, her blonde hair splayed out over his shoulder. I sent her a meaningful glance which she met with a cheeky wink that was so typical of her.

After rolling my shoulders to relieve my dead-ish muscles I stood up.

"What's the time?" Mackie asked, pulling a shocked looking Ross from the floor as she stood.

"Probably mid-afternoon," Rydel spoke up as she brushed her hair back with her hands. I nodded and wordlessly tagged along as R5, Clara and Mackie made their way out and into the Lynch's lounge room.

Before I had the chance to sit down again my ears picked up a low engine rumbling close by.  
"Guys I think my parents are home," I nodded at Clara "We should go and put our bags away." She came to stand beside me before we got looks of approval from the others. Without needing to continue the conversation we walked to the door, grabbed our shoes and school bags and headed next door.

"Hey Max?" Clara started.

"Mmh?"

"Rocky and I spent some of the movie whispering about our plan to get Ross and Mackie together and we've decided what to do now!" She squealed, bouncing up and down more than usual as we walked.

"Why do I get the feeling that I should be concerned about this?" I laughed, though at the time I was more concerned with making sure no demons were following us.

"I'll tell you when we get up to your room but for now, tell me how you feel about Riker. For real." My head snapped up in confusion.

"What are you talking about?" My words stumbled out cautiously.

"Well you two have been pretty close lately and don't think I didn't see you during the movie. Do you like him or what?" My jaw opened and closed, not unlike a fish. Eventually I found some words to answer with.

"I can't tell you to be honest." Clara looked taken back, being my best friend and expecting me to share the information with her; but there was more to it. "I can't tell you because I don't know what to tell myself. Sometimes he seems like someone I can constantly be comfortable around yet at the same time I'm petrified of doing anything wrong. He keeps finding out whenever anything is up with me like when you and I were fighting, when there was that whole thing with me and that truck and he is often able to know when I'm not acting truthfully. I don't know what to think of it and now he wants me to tell him whenever anything happens but you know how I am, it's just not how I roll I guess. And also I do really like being with him and having fun but I don't know if I want more than that!" I stopped for a while to catch my breath, a little uncertain after spilling so many thoughts out at once.

"Ok think about this seriously, do you not know if you want more with him or are you really just afraid of wanting that?" I looked straight into her now dead serious eyes, not sure what to make of her question.

"I… I don't know…" I answered truthfully "But… Clara since he keeps finding out my uh, problems, I'm worried that he's going to find out about _what happened_." I put on a 'you know what I'm talking about' face, hoping that she understood.

"Max that happened two years ago so I doubt anyone will find out about it unless there's a storm and something happens to you alright? If you don't want anyone knowing then just avoid them when you know it's going to storm and I'll be with you faster than you can imagine ok?" She looked at me kindly, putting a hand on my shoulder as we stood on my doorstep. "Just try to decide about Riker over time, but for now we have to play the romance game with Ross and Mackie! Moss? Or Rackie? Neither of them sound very sweet actually." I managed to genuinely laugh, glad that the usual, non-serious Clara was back. I smiled in agreement before we made our way inside and up to my room.

Don't think I didn't send a hateful glance towards a certain window as we passed the first floor bathroom, because I did.

Once we had thrown our gear onto my floor and settled on my carpet amongst it all I had to push away some final thoughts before we could get started on discussing our Moss/Rackie –it really did sound bad- plans.

_Do I really like Riker that way?_

_And what happens if everyone does find out about _what happened_? What will they think of me then?_

I slipped my questions away, knowing that they were better left for later. Meanwhile, Clara saw that I was ready to listen and began reeling off the plan she and Rocky had come up with, leaving me with every right to be concerned yet amused at the same time. As I took down details inside my head I knew it was going to be rather… _interesting _to see how it turned out.

Very interesting indeed.

* * *

**There ya go! Haha well I'm glad it's finally up! Now I just have to edit and fiddle with the chapter of my other fanfic (for Danisnotonfire the YouTuber.) and then I'll get to relax :D **

**I'm going to see Legally Blonde the musical tonight so that should be good! Yes, laugh all you like, I do like musical theater. ANYWAYS I should ****_definitely_**** be able to update soon! Please review and tell me what you think!**

**As always, love you! ROCK ON! 3**


	21. Chapter 21

**OK i'M SO SORRY i GIVE YOU FULL PERMISSION TO THROW A RABID BEAVER AT MY FACE! I have had the worst writers block I've ever had and then procrastinated uploading this chapter so much because I really don't like it. It's basically another lead on to the real and main part of the plan Rocky and Clara came up with. I promise next chapter will be better! And sorry again for dissapearing for so long... I feel awful...**

**Disclaimer: I do not own and people, places, companies or anything else you may recognize in this fanfiction. I do own my OCs and the story line.**

* * *

***MAX'S POV***

Two days after Clara had first explained the plan she and Rocky had made to get Ross and Mackie to realize they liked each other, everything seemed to be in place. Whilst the creators of the plan were practically bouncing with excitement, Riker, Ellington, Rydel and I were shuffling around like a slightly drunk bunch of teenagers.

Clara fussed over Rocky's fully covering black outfit silently, her tongue stuck out in concentration –much to the amusement of her subject- whilst she worked.

Once the fussing finally ended everyone but Clara and Rocky left the Lynch household and walked towards the park down the street.

"Guys we're over here!" I immediately recognized Mackie's accent over by a swing set and led everyone towards her.

"Hey Max I thought you said this restaurant had a really fancy dress code, why are you dressed like that?" Ross popped out from where he had been leaning on a tree.

I looked at Mackie who was dolled up and dressed in a gorgeous dress that had a deep purple bust and flowing puffs of white material trailing down from that and ending just above her knees. Rydel was similar with a flower patterned tight fitting dress that went halfway down her thighs. Both girls stood on moderate heels. The boys all wore dark jeans, not the usual ripped ones they wore but good ones, formal dress shirts and Riker of course topped his off with a blue tie.

It took a lot of effort not to laugh as I glanced down at my own outfit. Black jeans and a plain grey tank top. Whoops. Must have missed the memo.

It was part of the plan to get the targeted couple together with us all at a fancy restaurant that we had gotten vouchers for so they would dress up and look impressive to one another, which seemed to be working as they were staring at each other every third second. No matter what the plan was, I did _not _like the idea of wearing some shnazzy dress and makeup. Nope.

"I'm sure They'll let me in anyway." I shrugged.

"Oh and are you sure Rocky and Clara are ok with not coming?" Mackie frowned "I know the voucher we have will only pay for 6 people and there's eight of us but I feel bad…"

"Trust me you shouldn't," My lies came smoothly "I'm sure they're just happy to spent _alooone _time together." Everyone nodded and exchanged quiet laughter.

* * *

We were finally approaching the polished glass doors of the restaurant after twenty minutes of laughter filled walking. A bulky looking man with a balding head so shiny I wanted to try polishing it loitered lazily around the door. We all crowded up to the door, now quieter with our conversations when he stopped us.

"I'm sorry but we have a very, _very _strict dress code in here and you're a little under dressed," He pointed a chubby finger at me.

I wanted to scream out 'you've gotta be freaking kidding me?!' but I kept my face calm.

"These are my good jeans?" It was an attempt to state something but it left my lips way more like a question. Baldy gave me an unimpressed look and waved me off.

We all walked out of hearing distance before I started talking.

"Look, "I paused, turning to face everyone "You guys go inside and enjoy. I'll walk home and butt into Clara and Rocky's 'alone time' or something."

"You can't just walk home by yourself though," Riker gave me a very intense stare, obviously thinking of what happened the last time I walked the streets ok LA at this time of day.

"Hey I'll go with Max and we can buy her a dress –because I know she doesn't own any- " Rydel stopped mid-squeal to glare "and also some shoes and stuff, then we'll come back and meet you inside!" Everyone stood silently before exchanging agreeing nods. To my horror.

Rydel wrapped her hand around my wrist and dragged me off before I could protest further than my disgusted expression. As the others gave us small waves they made their way back to Baldy who scanned the small group until he was satisfied that I wasn't part of it.

"This is going to be great!" Delly chirped, bringing me into the first store she found that had dresses in it. "I've wanted to see how you'd look all dressed up for ages now!" I cringed at the thought but at the same time I pitied her. If the poor girl thought she'd be getting makeup on me she would have to endure watering eyes and constant flinching. I wasn't exactly used to that sort of thing.

"Why couldn't I just go home?" I complained as she dragged me towards a rack "I'm not even a real part of the _plan_."

Rydel just shook her head before forcing me to stand up straight as she held the first of many dresses up to my figure.

The entire time she was looking through dresses I spent making critical comments inside of my head.

_That colour would be _great_ for showing off how nice and pasty my skin is._

_Oh wow, look how freaking small that is! I'm thin but I'm not that bad!_

_Why the absolute heck would anyone wear that!? It looks like a Halloween costume!_

_ Ok no, no that dress says LOOK AT MY BOOBS. Or in my case, LOOK AT MY LACK OF THEM._

_Too pink. I'm not feminine enough for that._

_Ok this one is definitely made to show off how weird I look._

_This is why I don't go shopping._

"Max why are you looking so depressed?" I snapped out of my own world "I just found the perfect dress for you!" I sighed at Rydel as her pin straight blonde hair worked to perfectly frame the beaming smile she wore. I was shoved, rather harshly, into a changing cubicle to try on the dress.

I slipped out of my '_oh so unacceptable'_ jeans and shirt before reluctantly sliding into the dress.

To my surprise it fit perfectly, not being too tight or loose. My hands fumbled for a while to pull up the silver zip on the side.

After a great deal of hesitation I turned to look myself in the mirror.

I was surprised that I didn't cringe or frown too much at what I saw. The dress was navy blue with white polka dots covering it. Overall it was nice, shaped and hugging from the chest to my mid waist before puffing out slightly into cute folds of material. I was however worried about the lack of straps and the way the dress stopped a fair way above my knees.

A small jitter of laughter escaped me as I heard Rydel pacing impatiently outside of the stall. I let her off the stress and opened the door for her to see. Immediately her face lit up and she skipped -as well as she could in heels- towards me, ordering me to do a turn so she could see every angle.

"Ok I am so getting this for you!" she squealed, surprising me.

"Who said _you_ were paying!?" my voice was a little panicked. The store looked expensive and there was no way I was letting her use her own money on such a pricy dress for me.

"I want to pay though!" she pleaded "you look so good!"

"There's no way in this universe that I'd let you do that and that's final." I huffed before stepping back into the cubicle so I could change again and go pay for the dress.

* * *

"Are you sure this is not too much?" I fussed, tugging Rydel's arm as we approached the restaurant for the second time that day. Instead of the late afternoon sun that was lighting the streets when we first arrived, we were now greeted by the new darkness of the early night. I looked down, staring worriedly at the polka dot dress. After we had bought that I was dragged into another couple of stores where we picked up a matching blue bow for my hair, a small fake pearl bracelet and some plain white flat shoes. Luckily I had only been forced to wear light foundation and a lip gloss, since I refused to have any makeup bought and that was all that Rydel had brought with her.

"Max you look fine! Stop fiddling with everything!" Rydel smirked and led me towards the glass doors once again. Baldy gave me a disapproving look at first but after he took a second glance at my new clothing we were led inside. Delly explained to a waiter that we were with a group that was already here and after pointing them out we were allowed to walk over and join them.

I trailed behind the much taller blonde, literally hiding from sight. I wasn't exactly comfortable in what I was wearing.

***RIKER'S POV***

"Oh Rydel's back!" I looked up when I heard Ellington speak "Hey but where's Max?" My eyes automatically widened. For the entire time she had been gone I'd been feeling very paranoid. It was just my reflexes over reacting with the knowledge that last time Max had been walking the streets around this time she was practically mowed by a truck.

Much to my relief, Delly turned around and started pulling someone forward. That someone being Max.

"Ohmygosh!" Mackie cracked a smile "Max you look gorgeous!" I frowned at the way Max subtly rolled her eyes before taking a proper loom at her. I couldn't stop my mouth from hanging open slightly. She looked so… different. In a good way though.

Both of the girls took their places in spare seats around the table, Both of them purposely avoiding the seats directly next to Ross and Mackie at the large table.

"What's gotten you so freaked out?" Max tapped me on the shoulder as she sat next to me. "I don't look _that _bad in a dress do I?" Before I could think I blurted out exactly what was playing through my mind.

"Not at all, you look really cute actually."

I watched cautiously as her face reddened, concerned at the fact that I would just say something like that out loud. She looked like she was trying way too hard to not hide away in a corner. Her reaction seemed to be really funny to me, so of course I started to be a tease.

My hands worked their way up to her head and flamboyantly patted her hair whilst making cutesy faces. She shrunk down into her seat, frowning and dipping her head to hide the mad blush that had spread across her face.

Before I could continue my fun a waiter started ferrying meals out to each of us, captivating the undying attention of every boy at the table. Mackie, Rydel and Max looked at each other with an amused grin before turning to their own food.

As we all dug in like the pigs we were, I couldn't help but give off a small smile at the thought of how many hilarious ways the rest of our plan could go wrong. Ross and Mackie sure were in for it.

* * *

**Well there you have your awful filler chapter. As I said at the start, I promise that next chapter will have some actual action ._.'**

**Uuurg well I'm sorry again! I'll try harder I promise! :(**

**Thanks for still sticking with me though! You're all perfect human beings... or other species, if that's the case.**

**ROCK ON! 3**


	22. Chapter 22

**! Please read my author's note at the end, it's a bit important! Anyway enjoy, hopefully !**

* * *

** *MAX'S POV***

I swear I could have killed that freaking dumbass. Whilst I was stuck in my skimpy little polka-dot dress, Riker seemed to be finding every way humanly possible to embarrass me. His smile seemed to grow bigger and wider every time my face became redder. The big idiot had some fascination with my little hair bow too as he constantly tweaked and flicked it, earning elbows from me. Eventually I just gave up, snatched the fabric from my hair and pinned it on him. Everybody got a good laugh from it and Riker even left it where it sat in his blonde hair for the rest of the meal.

Throughout everything, Riker, Rydel, Ratliff and I had been completely ignoring Ross and Mackie. Riker occupied his time irritating me whilst Ellington was telling Rydel all about the latest cute things he had done for his girlfriend Kelly, which of course made Delly practically fangirl all over the place. The basic idea was just for us to give Ross and Mackie no other choice but to talk between themselves since we wouldn't be offering them any forms of conversation.

The two of them didn't even notice how blatantly obvious it was that we were ignoring them on purpose as they were constantly conversing, one eating and listening intently whilst the other spoke before swapping actions.

Of course the time came when we had to leave the restaurant to activate the final stage of our plans. If there was any real chance of everything going exactly and perfectly as planned, I sure couldn't tell.

As we stepped out into the cool evening breeze most of us had to push back a shiver. Laughter almost flooded from my mouth as Mackie offered Ross her jacket as if to say 'Screw the stereotype! _I'm_ giving him _my_ jacket, not the other way around!'

Although he was slightly taken back at first, Ross laughed and accepted, draping the small white jacket over his much wider shoulders.

Just as it had been planned, I quietly texted Clara to tell her we had left the restaurant and were walking in the general direction of our homes.

"Let the chaos begin…" I muttered as Rydel, Riker, Ell and I started purposefully dropping behind the two others, keeping our speech muffled or incoherent as not to be distracting.

All of a sudden a tall, muscular figure in black came bounding around the block, his footsteps smashing the pavement as he ran. Mr 'Subtle' barely slowed down as he snatched Mackie's purse right from her unsuspecting clutches before continuing his way down the street. Ellington and I stepped forward only to be 'knocked down' in the thief's path, sending Rydel rushing to my side and Riker making sure his _Brother from another Mother_ was alright.

Ross' senses seemed to click that it was up to him if something were to be done about the situation, so he took off after the culprit.

Three seconds later and everyone was standing again, staring intently after the two boys racing down the street and towards a well-lit park.

"Come on guys!" Rydel stepped into action. "We have to catch up to them!"

With those words we all set off, our footsteps appearing much more frantic than they actually were, excluding Mackie's, of course, who was actually concerned.

The Brit had taken off faster than the rest of us, anxious to ensure Ross' safety. My lips twisted upwards slightly as I ran. I was definitely eager to watch the outcome; using that thought as motivation to catch up to Mackie I quickened my pace. For a while the streets blurred by like messy paint streaks until all of us suddenly came to a screeching halt, not unlike the ones you see in old cartoons.

We had made it to the park that Ross and the bag thief had sprinted into and we were all standing just inside the large iron gates, panting heavily in the cool evening air. I looked around, inspecting the lit up greenery. The neat grassy foreground was dotted with towering, fanned out trees, placed close enough together to create a thin canopy of leaves high above us. Thick bushes appeared here and there, each surrounded by a small bed of yellow flowers and retro looking lamps lined every pathway, lighting the scene with faint golden tinges.

"Guys," Riker pointed down the widest brick path. "Over there."

We started running down the pavement before any more of us had even had a good look where he was pointing, but it didn't take long to focus on two puffed out figures standing by a large water feature.

None of us got closer than a few meters to the action, not wanting to interfere. Ross was slowly stepping forwards each time the thief took a step back, making them both wordlessly advance closer to the fountain.

"Dude just give back the purse and we'll be off your back." Ross managed to sound calm but threatening at the same time as he closed in. The figure had backed up all the way to the edge of the rustic fountain, looking Ross dead in the eye. Finally the two muscular figures were barely a few feet from each other, waiting for someone to make the next move as the splashing of the fountain made the only noise around.

All of a sudden Ross leapt forward, grabbing at the purse clutched in the darkly dressed man's hands. During his actions though, he hadn't stepped forwards enough and ended up losing his balance and stumbling.

"Ross!" Mackie yelled, quickly racing towards him. The blonde fell straight onto the thief, making his coordination slightly fuzzed out as he grabbed at the black mask in front of him instead of the bag, ripping it away.

In all the commotion, nobody had enough time to see the offender's face before he and Ross inevitably fell over. Into the fountain.

Mackie had somehow managed to reach for her purse during the fray and saved it from a swim, but the same couldn't be said for the two people involved. Both figures quickly splashed their faces out of the water, their clothes stuck to their bodies and hair plastered down.

There was total silence for a moment before reality kicked back in as Ross turned furiously towards the now unmasked thief.

"Who do you think you a-…" he stopped ranting; now staring at the face in front of him in utter confusion.

"Rocky?" Mackie, wide-eyed and frowning, shuffled closer to the boys sitting in the water.

"Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!" a new voice suddenly entered the mix. We all turned to see a rather disappointed looking Clara stomp out from behind a tree. She pouted her lips and crossed her arms like an unhappy child who hadn't gotten what she'd wanted.

"I would have sworn this would work!"

"I wouldn't have…" Ratliff mumbled beside me, causing my hand to fly to my mouth supressing a giggle.

"Hold on," Ross stood up in the fountain, saturated from head to toe. "What the heck is going on?"

The rest of us, bar Mackie, looked around guiltily, suddenly finding interest in things like the pavement, a tree, a bench or that dead squirrel over there that was halfway inside a Dorito packet.

The fountain filled in the silence once again as everyone stood stock still, Ross and Mackenzie waiting for an answer and the rest of us not wanting to give one. I looked around, taking in the scene. Everyone looked so awkward and confused that it was just hilarious. When I compared this outcome to what Clara and Rocky had imagined, it was absolutely nothing like the _'Ross the Superhero'_ ending. They had ended up falling in a fountain and Rocky's identity was revealed.

Putting it all together with the awkward situation we were in I couldn't hold in my laughter any longer. I suddenly burst out laughing so hard that I was bent over clutching my stomach. I forced my eyes open to see everyone else staring at me like I had just sprouted a second head which only made me laugh harder. The weirded out faces they were making seemed somehow hilarious at the time.

"Th-This is-" I struggled to get words out between my hysterics. "It's ridiculous!" The end of the word faded away as I doubled over laughing once again.

Without warning someone else started laughing next to me… then another person… and another.

Eventually we were all just standing around cackling.

By the time we had all calmed down there were no more anxious feelings hanging in the air, nor was there any tension.

"Seriously though, what _was_ that all about?" Mackie asked with an amused smile.

"Oh just a little bit of fun," I lied smoothly. It was almost concerning how quickly and easily I could lie, but hey, practice makes perfect.

Clara walked over to the side of the fountain, helping Rocky up with a small giggle. Once standing Rocky decided to be a pain and hug her, his soaking and cold clothes sending a visible jolt through her. Ross took one look at them before deciding he wanted in on the fun, grabbing Mackie's wrist and bringing her into his own arms. Much to everyone else's happiness.

"Ross Ross Ross no!" she squealed, squirming around and trying to escape his grip but to no avail. His face held a gentle smile as he buried his dripping head into her shoulder.

"Oh my god I'm going to get you back for this sometime!" she spoke through gritted teeth.

"Ok that's it." Clara impatiently pushed out of Rocky's arms, walked over to the second pair, turning them to face each other and shoved them together.

_Subtle Clara, real subtle._

The two of their noses were touching as they started at each other with wide eyes. Clara stood beside them proudly, giving off an almost evil aura like she had planned this all along. Knowing her, I wouldn't be too surprised. God I love my best friend.

After they literally hadn't moved for over 10 seconds Clara once again became impatient. She stepped up again, raised her arms and pressed on the backs of their necks. The pressure moved their jaws upwards so they had physically been manoeuvred into a kiss.

The moment their lips connected Ross' eyes closed. He snaked his arms down around Mackie's waist, pulling her closer as he kissed the still shocked girl. Soon enough she responded and returned the kiss with a look of utter happiness on her face.

As those two enjoyed their moment of happiness and forgot about the world, the rest of us snuck away, not wanting to hang about awkwardly. We walked a fair way further into the park and sat at a bench that I found worryingly close to the dead Dorito squirrel from before.

"Well... that didn't exactly go to plan…" Riker chuckled, watching as Rocky shifted around in his soaked clothes.

"Who cares, they're happy and they finally made a move. Well, Clara did." I smiled, genuinely happy for them. They were definitely cute together. Riker tussled my hair with a pleased look before we headed back over to the new 'kind-of-couple'.

Agreeing it was late we worked our way back to our homes and sat around on the Lynch's front lawn until Mackie's mum picked her up. Of course Ross gave her an extra-long hug goodnight before she was whisked away. Clara decided to crash at my house so we all decided to say goodnight and split. We settled for a few waves and smiles before heading to our houses to end the day.

A smile reached my lips when I thought back to the walk home. Ross and Mackie didn't let go of each other's hand once.

* * *

**Hey everyone! Wow I actually can't believe how much I've missed writing! And ray, Ross and Mackie are FINALLY together… kind of haha! I had a good enough time on holidays, even though there wasn't enough snow where we went to actually bother going and skiing or even driving up the mountain. Damn you Australia, why can't you just snow everywhere? Anyway my first week back at school was alright, as usual we were bombarded with homework to get us back into the swing of things so I couldn't update then. This week that has just passed I honestly just couldn't get myself to sit down and write since I've been pretty depressed about Cory Monteith leaving us. I will seriously miss him and I'll forever be glad to have had such a wonderful person as an idol. Don't Stop Believing, Cory.**

**Anyway what I really needed to tell you guys is that I decided to officially update every Friday or early in the weekend, Australian Eastern Standard Time, if you're in other countries -excluding New Zealand- then it will seem earlier. I will try my ****_absolute_**** hardest to be consistent with this and if I have events that are stopping me from uploading those days I'll try to post as close to them as I can.**

**Thanks for sticking by me everyone and I hope you're all doing well. I know the Cory thing has hit a lot of people pretty hard, myself included so if you want to talk even if it's unrelated then feel free to PM me anytime.**

**Mackie I hope that this chapter was ok for you by the way! **

**So thank you all, remember to Review and Favourite!**

**Love you all! ROCK ON! 3**


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